


Shingeki no Yuushi/Attack on Heroes ~ Mystic Witches Arc

by Dimens_Walker (Doppel_Walker)



Series: Shingeki no Yuushi/Attack on Heroes [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - College/University, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, Gen, Magic, Magic-Users, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Possible OOC-ness, Some References, Song prompts, Spells & Enchantments, Titans, a bit of violence, will add more tags as story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-22 13:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22316869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doppel_Walker/pseuds/Dimens_Walker
Summary: Heavily inspired by the Sailor Moon and Super Sentai series, Shingeki no Yuushi features you (and the SnK casts) as you attempt to balance the life of a university student and a magical guardian tasked to protect the innocents against the enemies of humanity: titans.
Series: Shingeki no Yuushi/Attack on Heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606315





	1. Orientation

**Author's Note:**

> \- All characters, names, settings, and titans (except for you, your family and your actions) belong to Isayama Hajime. However, there will be lots of different creative renditions on them.  
> \- Everyone's personalities (except yours) will be as close to the original as possible but do expect some OOC-ness once in a while.  
> \- Hange will be referred to as female as you've probably guessed.  
> \- There will be some song prompts. They're just events in the story with a song I think that might fit into the situation. They're not hard to spot and you don't need to listen to them if you don't want to but it's just a recommendation for the best effect.  
> \- There will be some random trivia facts at the end notes of each chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Is it that wrong to just have a simple, fresh start to a new university life? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way in this world." - You

**֍ Magic 1: Orientation ** **֎**

**_That day, the human race remembered the terror of being dominated by them, and the shame of being held captive in a birdcage..._ **

The sound of sirens blaring...

Those terrible visages...

The screams of people around...

The man's voice told you to get to safety...

Those big wings...

The rumbling of the earth...

A sharp pain...

The heat of the flames...

[All fade to black...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bBpiHJm3t0)

**_(Wait, wait, WAIT! That's NOT the intro song![This is!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMXgHfHxKVM&pbjreload=10))_ **

* * *

The ceiling was all you see in the darkness of your room. There were no sirens, no screams, only the occasional chirping of birds and crickets. As for the heat, your body was confused. You felt cold yet you were sweating bullets. Ah, it was all just a dream... Correction, it was _that dream again_... No matter how often you racked your brain trying to piece all of the images together, you still wouldn't be able to make sense of it. This has been going on for years as you can remember but there was that one gaping hole in your memory that you were annoyed at. Turning your head to the side, your alarm clock red 6:05AM. It was too early for you to wake up. You remembered setting your alarm for half an hour later. But seeing as you were wide awake and feeling too uncomfortable to sleep again, you decided to just get up and get on with it.

The sound of your footsteps alerted your mother of your presence. She greeted you good morning. You greeted her and your father back after a long yawn. After the toaster popped your pieces of bread up, you slathered them with butter, some honey and a piece of ham in between. You never cared about the strange looks people have given you concerning your choice of fillings for a sandwich. Honey ham sandwich has always been your favourite breakfast. Coupled it with a cup of coffee on the side and you were good to go. The sipping of your drink and the rustling of the newspaper as you flipped through the pages were the only sounds of the morning before your mother broke the ice again.

Mom: You're up early.

You: Yep.

Mom: Nervous? Excited?

You: I guess? I would've gone back to sleep if I didn't remember that today is the first day of orientation week.

Mom: Really? Going back to sleep?

You: What? It's true!

You gave her a shrug and a pout before returning your attention to the newspapers. There wasn't much in the news, save for a weird blackout that recently happened to some shops in the western city of Krolva the previous day which was passed on as an electrical malfunction. No, you were more interested in the later section of the papers: the comics. Sometimes their visuals are simple, sometimes realistic. But they always amaze you on their ability to tell a story with only a few panels. And just from these few panels, the personality of the simpler characters have been laid bare. Sipping your coffee again, you took a quick glimpse at the clock. Five minutes past seven. You figured you would still have time to finish your morning drink before returning to your room to get dressed.

You have already decided on your clothes since the weekends and they were laid hanging on your chair before being switched out with your home clothes. You glanced at yourself in your chosen attire in the mirror. It wasn't too casual but not too smart. First impressions are important but comfort is key to lasting through an event and you didn't want to look too uptight. Hmm, hold on a minute... Something seemed to be missing... You tilted your head in confusion until you realized what it was.

Reaching for your desk, you grabbed a black cloth choker with a grey feather hanging in the middle. It was ruffled and somewhat burnt on the edges. It didn't look as amazing as a brand new quill that would only be sold in some expensive vintage shop in Sina or even Mitras. Your mom has urged you plenty of times to throw it away and you would be lying if you didn't think of doing it yourself too. You couldn't though. There was a strange feeling of nostalgia and importance to it. You remembered the times you saw something spectacular happening with the feather. Every time there was a storm in your area, it sparkled a beautiful blue. However, you couldn't touch without experiencing from an uncomfortable tingling feeling to a sharp sting, like as if you were zapped by a spark of electricity. You were also filled with a sense of duty to hold onto it and thus, you did. You had that feather for as long as you had been having that weird dream. Your gut feeling was telling you that they were both connected but how so, you didn't know. Trying to carry that feather in hand looked weird and inconvenient so you took the time to look up on a tutorial on how to create your own accessory online. And that was the story of your feather choker. You wore it around your neck and took one last glance in the mirror. A small smile of satisfaction. Time to go.

* * *

Despite having a head start, the subway which you will be using as your main transportation to the university was already crowded with early birds. At least the space in the coach was not as packed as the amount of cars you predicted would be on the road at the very moment. It was a good thing your house was a few minutes' walk away from the nearest subway station. You didn't like the idea of being late for the first day of your orientation just because of a traffic jam. As soon as the PA system announced your station, you walked through the doors and up the stairs. The building was the first thing you saw when you neared the exit. Under the rays of the morning sun, the university was in full view in all its glory in front of you.

The University of Trost, or "Trost Uni", as you were told, was the only university in the city of Trost you currently live in and also one of the best universities in the country. The varsity boasted graduating very successful alumni and their innovative programmes. The building as a whole was as impressive as they had advertised on their official website but how the inside really looked like, that would be something you had to see for yourself during the tour. And that was something you thought you should have done the last time you came to the place to settle some payments for your enrolment in the bursary. Walking through the entrance and pass the administration department that you had come to familiarize with, you felt completely lost by the sheer size of the place. According to the pamphlet that was given to you the week before, you were supposed to go to an auditorium for your orientation. Your family moved into the city only a couple of months ago and you all had to familiarize yourself with your new home. But that can take as much time as you lived. Now you had to do it before you were late on your first day for an embarrassing reason.

Again, first impressions are important! You dug your hand into your pocket and fished your phone out slightly to look at the clock on the screen. You felt some slight relief to know that you arrived quite early. But that relief was short-lived with the fact that you still needed to find your way around. Hugging the straps of your bag close to you, you looked around like a lost sheep looking for its shepherd. Everyone, students of new and old, were walking past you as if the map of the place have been installed into their brain. That is, until you spotted someone who was standing as still as you were. The guy had long blonde hair with a fringe that almost hit his eyes and a little ponytail tied at the end. He was dressed in smart-casual wear and his bright ocean-blue eyes were looking at a silver watch worn on his right wrist. He seemed a little worried as he glanced for the time, you thought. You didn't want to disturb him but you really had no choice in the matter. So with a deep breath, you slowly walked up towards him. He must have been really deep in thought if he was so startled by your approach.

You: Erm... Excuse me...?

???: Uwah!

You: Ah! I'm so sorry!

???: N-no no! I'm sorry!

You: Erm... Do you know how to get to the auditorium? I'm new here and I'm kind of lost...

???: Oh! Err... Sorry, I'm also new here...

The stranger gave an apologetic smile while rubbing the back of his neck. Well, that was awkward. Your first attempt got you nowhere but hey, at least you found out that you weren't the only lost sheep. He told you to wait at your spot while he went off to ask someone else. Your eyes followed his form to see that he was speaking with what you believed to be a senior. The senior was motioning his hands around before waving your stranger goodbye and leaving. The blonde came back to you with a reassuring smile and relayed you the directions told earlier. You thanked him with a nod and left for your destination.

Upon arriving to the auditorium, you noticed that there were already a couple of people seated around. You had expected to meet up in a hall but this felt smaller than that. You took a seat near the centre for a good view of anything important that may come up. With nothing much left to do but wait, you took out a pencil and a sketchbook to draw. It was your favourite way of killing time. One by one, you noticed more people entering the venue. The arrival of a group of seniors gathering near the stage signalled that it was time to start the event. Right before the intended emcee grabbed the microphone, three more people hurried in. You noticed that one of them was the same blonde guy you talked to earlier. He was accompanied by another guy and a girl. When they were seated near you, it finally started.

* * *

It started off with the an opening ceremony by the vice-chancellor who graced the venue with his rare appearance before moving onto the introduction to the student council representatives who organized the orientation week. You figured that it would be a good idea to try to memorize their names and faces in case you needed to ask questions. Then came everyone's not-so-favourite moment, an ice-breaking session. Everyone was encouraged to go up to each other and socialize. You noticed that there was one particular group of people which included the three almost-latecomers gathered around. Judging by how comfortable they were chatting with each other, you guessed that they all knew each other beforehand. You twiddled your fingers as you looked around. Everyone has gotten into a circle to socialize. Just then, you heard a voice calling for you from one side. You knew that it was directed at you since you were the only one left out. Turning your head, you found that a petite girl was coming towards you. She had eyes in the colour of a clear blue sky and locks of gold with one side held up by a hairpin in the shape of white angel wings. You swore that she looked almost like the blonde stranger from earlier, if not, probably his twin sister.

???: Hey there, you looked like you were left out.

You: Err... I kind of am...?

???: "Kind of"?? You HAVE been left out and that's no good!

You: Way to state the obvious...

???: By the way, want to join our group?

You looked at her, unsure to whether she was for real. She smiled ever so sweetly at you. You glanced at the group that she was from and then back at her. She seemed hopeful that you would join in. After a brief mental discussion with yourself, you decided that there shouldn't be any harm in just going with it. After all, if any one of them turned out to be a jerk, you would know their faces and to avoid them at all costs. When you entered their circle, you finally get to know them as curious glances were laid upon you.

Firstly, to ease your awkwardness, the girl introduced herself as Krista Lenz. A bright and kind girl, you thought. She seemed to have a very positive flow around her that could bring her friends to smiles. You wondered, could such a person like her really exist? Then, seeing that the both of you had a brief encounter earlier, the blonde stranger introduced himself to you as Armin Arlert. Judging by his personality from before, he was most likely an introvert. Next was the girl by the name of Mikasa Ackerman. With a fair complexion, short black hair and stoic grey eyes, you admitted that she was beautiful but cold looking and trying to read her emotions would be no easy task. This was then followed by Armin's male friend of dark hair by the name of Eren Yaegar. Although his enthusiasm was beaming, his fierce green eyes intimidated you. You had the feeling that he has got quite the temper and you were right when he clapped back at the next person to introduce himself, who mocked him for scaring you. With ash brown hair, amber eyes and a pair of black sharp-looking piercings adorning his left ear, Jean Kirschtein was another intimidating looking figure. You guessed that he probably opted for a bad boy look just to look cool and you hoped that this was only the case for his looks and not his personality. Armin assured you that their bickering was a norm. After that came Connie Springer, a guy with what looked to be his blonde hair growing back from his buzz-cut and a mouth to run a joke or two. Soon after, Sasha Blouse, a brunette girl with some of her hair tied into a small ponytail and a toast sandwich in her hand. She took a bite out of it as she attempted to introduce herself to you with her mouth full which got her scolded by Mikasa for her lack of simple manners. And finally, you introduced yourself as [full name] with the fact that you moved into Trost rather recently. It seemed that you were warmly received with the smiles on their faces and excited propositions to show you around the city more.

Just as Krista wanted to ask you some questions, the student council announced that the university tour would start soon and everyone would be divided into groups to speed the process up. It just so happened that your circle was just nice a number and all of you gathered up and waited for a senior to come and escort you. The name "Marco Bott" was mentioned and you noticed that everyone's expressions lit up, most notably Armin and Jean. Apparently, Marco just so happened to another friend of theirs so it was either luck or fate that he was assigned to your group. When he finally came into view with his suit and blazer, you recognized him as the guy whom you saw Armin asked for directions earlier and could finally get a closer look. He was a tall guy with dark hair and brown eyes. He wasn't particularly striking like Jean but if it wasn't for you noticing the kindest smile you have seen in your life, you would be imagining that you could play "connect-the-dots" with the freckles that adorned his face. Eren's voice calling for you snapped you back to reality and quickly trotted along from behind.

* * *

The university truly was as impressive as you had imagined. Starting from the auditorium, you all toured around the administrative block where the registry and bursary were, then to academic block where all the classrooms and faculty offices were. Different types of labs for the medical and science courses, workshops for engineering, there were even mock primary and secondary school classrooms for those under the education course like Marco was. There was a staff division meant for student affairs like the student council and a library that boasted the latest up-to-date books and e-books for information and references. There was also a study area above the library, perfect for those who wanted some peace and quiet before their exams. Most importantly, there was a centre that helped students find internship posts for their practicum. Lastly, at the athletic block, there was a big sports field, a multipurpose court, a swimming pool, and the event hall by the back. The last stop for all of you was the gym where it has most standard exercising equipments. While there, you noticed that there were a couple of people present.

Marco: Hey, Reiner!

Reiner: Hmm? Oh, hey Marco! What are you doing here?

Marco: Oh, I'm just taking the new intake students around for a tour. You should know who they are.

Reiner: Well, if it isn't the whole gang!

Connie: Yo, Reiner!

Eren: Good to see you!

Marco: Heard that you're about to start internship, right?

Reiner: Yep! By a few months later though. I'm going to try finding a spot as a personal trainer but I still got some classes left here so you know where to find me as usual. Hmm? I see a new face here.

It was quite obvious that this "Reiner" was talking about you. When you heard him, you quickly switched your attention from the person by the punching bag to him. He was quite a burly guy with blonde hair and a square jaw. You could already tell from his stocky build that he frequented the gym a lot. He probably would blend in perfectly as a soldier if someone were to give him the uniform.

Marco: Oh, right. [F/n], this here is Reiner. He's your senior if you're going into sports science.

Reiner: Nice to meet you, [F/n].

You: Um... H-hi...?

Marco: Don't worry, he won't bite.

Reiner: Yep! "Big brother Reiner" here will protect you!

Connie: Except for that one time he got me in a chokehold and bit my leg when we were playing wrestling.

You: What?!

Reiner let out a hearty laugh over your shocked expression. You soon realized that Connie was merely joking and in response, you palmed your face in embarrassment. To be honest, he could bite or crush someone's skull with his big hands if he ever wanted to and it wouldn't be pretty... When your hand left your face, you noticed the punching patron has stopped and was walking over to grab a drink. She had a sharp nose and wore a lidded expression over her icy-blue eyes. Her blonde hair was tied into a messy bun but some strands were seen falling loose over her face. Her attire was what you mostly see in a fighting ring and it showed off her amazing physique of lean muscles. You heard Eren called the girl "Annie" and waved at her. She seemed to acknowledge the call and gave a small wave as a respond. However, you also felt something... intense... Looking at the source, Mikasa was glaring rather sharply at Annie who returned the favour. The staring match was so extreme that you swore that you felt actual heat and cold radiating from the two ladies. Sasha immediately piped in that she was feeling hungry and Marco quickly agreed that it was lunch break and escorted all of you to the cafeteria which was situated in between the administrative and academic blocks.

The cafeteria featured many stalls for different type of cuisines, from the simple local specialties to the exotic. There was also a café on one end. You figured that it might be a good idea to try something along the cheaper and more familiar side first before moving onto something a bit more adventurous. After getting your food on the tray, you made your way onto a vacant table and ate by yourself. At least the food tasted good because you would be needing it for the next few years studying in this university. Halfway through your meal, you noticed a shadow approaching and stopped in front of your table. Looking up, you saw Marco carrying his own tray of food. He asked whether he could sit and eat with you. Seeing that you got nothing to lose and you had pretty much lost against his smile ever since you first saw him, you told him that you didn't mind.

Marco: You're not with the others?

You: I guess not...?

Marco: There's no need to be shy. I've known them since secondary school. They're all a bunch of good people.

You: I don't think it's because that I'm shy... It's just that... I'm not that particularly social, especially in a new environment.

Marco: That's normal. I'm sure everyone's like that on their first day anywhere. Do you have anyone you know around here?

You: Not that I know of. I only moved in a couple of months ago and we're still getting used to the place.

Marco: Is that so? Well, I saw how excited everyone was wanting to take you around earlier. Hmm? Err, do you mind if a couple more friends of mine sit here?

You: I don't see why not.

Marco: Alright then. Hey guys, over here!

Marco stretched out his arm and waved his hand to a distance. You looked behind to see two guys coming over. One of them was Reiner but the other you didn't recognize. They sat down next to the both of you. Marco introduced the new guy as Bertolt who shyly smiled and nodded his head, and you returned the gesture with the same. You knew Reiner was a big guy but damn! And I mean, DAMN! If Reiner was big, then Bertolt was a new record! You quickly returned to your food when you were caught staring by the tall one.

Bertolt: Erm... Are you ok?

You: Ah...! It's... nothing...

Marco: He's really big isn't he?

You: Err... Y-yeah...

Reiner: Don't worry! He may be big, but he's a huggable bear who wouldn't hurt a fly!

Bertolt: Is that how you're going to introduce me to everyone else we meet...?

You: It's just...

Bertolt: Hm?

You: Tree...

Reiner immediately caught onto your strange choice of word and started laughing quite loudly. Marco only realized it after a minute later and laughed along. Bertolt wasn't too amused though. He tried to shush his friends up with a huge blush over his face.

Reiner: Hahahahahahaha! Oh man! I think I'm liking you already [F/n]! You got some interesting words to say!

You: I mean, if Bertolt had a cat, he could probably be mistaken as scratching post.

Bertolt: [Why does that sound so familiar...?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21931594/chapters/52432978#workskin)

Reiner: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oh, that's even better! "Scratching post"! HAHAHA!!

Bertolt: Oh, shut up Reiner!

You: S-sorry... I think I should keep my mouth shut...

Marco: Don't worry, Bertolt. I'm sure she meant no harm.

You: Sorry again...

Bertolt: It's ok... I just need to find a way to get him to stop laughing now.

Marco: Anyway, back to where we left off. If you don't mind me asking, where did you move out from?

You: Well, we used to live in Calaneth.

Marco: Calaneth eh? You sure you don't know anyone who's studying here now? Like a someone by the name of Mina Carolina?

You: Hmm... Nope, sorry. Can't say I've heard the name before.

Marco: Huh... Oh well. Just letting you know that she's also in the same batch of intake students as you are. Speaking of which, wasn't that one of the places struck by an earthquake years ago?

Reiner: Oh, yeah. The main hitter was at Shiganshina though... It was pretty bad. Then came the aftershocks that hit mostly western Maria and Calaneth.

Marco: Yeah, it was pretty bad.

An earthquake, they said. That would make sense on why you kept dreaming about the sirens, the screams and the rumbling. But still, the faces you saw... The faces of the monsters that haunted your dreams... How would those ever fit? Were they just the visualization of your fears of the tragedy that happened that day? And why was it that you could not remember the details of something as significant as that in your life? You were so deep in thought that it took the waving of a hand in front of your face to bring you back to reality. You told them that you had no recollection of the event which they found it strange. Marco theorized that the trauma must have been so great that you unconsciously blocked the memory in your subconscious which you agreed that it could have been the case. To lift the mood up, Reiner switched the topic by asking you of your interest in sports. You answered that you were in the track team and had a record during secondary school which impressed him. You also added that you would regularly jog in the city park every Sunday morning. He then joked that he would have asked you out on a workout session if you were to still be in Calaneth, which startled you. Bertolt explained that he and Reiner stayed in an apartment unit in the area before scolding his friend for scaring you. Lunch talk had to be cut short when Marco reminded you that you had to meet back at the auditorium to continue the orientation. You bid the two big guys farewell before leaving.

You continued the orientation for the day being briefed about certain aspects of your university life like payments, admissions and such. This would go on for the rest of the week with the addition of team building activities. Marco had encouraged you to take the initiative to join the group and you took heed on his words. You all played games against one another and competed in some sports, all for the sake of fun and more importantly, more socializing. By the time the week ended, you knew more of your intake mates such as Thomas Wagner, Samuel Linke-Jackson , the lovey-dovey couple Franz and Hannah, the mentioned Mina Carolina and more. You even found out that Krista and Jean would be your classmates for the year whereas Armin was opting for the science course and the rest were going into diplomas of their choices. You were grateful for the fact that you weren't going to be alone. Your first week had been a lot of fun and you anticipated for your first week of class.

* * *

While you were waiting for the train ride to go back home, you were smiling at your smart-phone as you scrolled through the amount of numbers you have saved in the list. When the orientation ended, you exchanged numbers with everyone. In no time at all, you were already admitted into their group chat and your phone was blowing up with the amount of messages coming in. It was nice to know an active group of new friends, that would mean that you were going to have an active social life to keep you entertained. What was supposed to be a few minutes suddenly felt like hours as you wondered where your train was. You looked around the station to find that it was devoid of people. Something felt off... You knew that because you remembered the place was full of people. It didn't make sense that everyone suddenly disappeared. You locked your phone and scanned your surrounding intensely. The place looked dimmer than before and the few amount of lights were your only comfort but didn't help much that some would flicker occasionally. The air felt thick and it was getting hard to breathe. And then you felt it...

**You were not alone...**

When you heard a shuffle, your head immediately jerked towards the tunnel. In the midst of its darkness, you stared at a random spot in an effort to identify anything that would have made the sound. Be it a rat or whatever but you hoped that it was just a rat. But it wasn't... Instead, you see the silhouette of a humanoid figure in the distance. It was slowly approaching towards your direction. You stood up and grabbed the straps of your bag tightly. You were ready to bolt but you had to make sure that it was not some weird creepy person. Hopefully it was just a maintenance worker doing his job, you thought. But by the way the figure was walking, it looked like it was somewhat limping. A foul smell suddenly permeated the air. You covered your nose and tried to hold your breath. Part of the figure finally hit the zone where the light shone and revealed... a human leg? Wait, there was something weird... Why would someone walk on the stony tracks barefooted? And then you realized something as it got closer. It was bigger than a human. Completely nude with bare skin sagging around its ribs. But the killer part was its face. That face... It looked human but... With eyes bulging from its socket, it stared blankly into the distance but when it found you, a menacing grin tore its mouth open to show its numerous teeth. Their size, you imagined, would be equivalent to the size of an average human head. It finally dawned on you that such a face looked familiar.

**Monster...**

You gasped and immediately bolted the other way around. You could hear its animalistic roar and the rumbles as it chased you down. You were once in a track team. You boasted one of the fastest records. Surely you could outrun something as big and bumbling as that thing. That was what you thought. But no matter how far you ran, you felt like you were still in the station. You should have seen some different things as you ventured deeper into the station. You then thought that it was a mistake for you to do so since you still weren't used to the area and thus, you would get lost. So in a bid to back track, you had to find a place to hide and run past it when it passed you. Except, there was one problem. There was no hiding place. No matter where you go, the place was as open as a field with only some pillars as the smallest cover. Welp, better something small than nothing, you supposed.

Unfortunately for you, the moment you stopped to catch your breath, you had to run again when it caught up. In the spur of the moment, you ran around the pillars in the hopes that it would clumsily bang into one. Thankfully it did and it was slowed down by the impact. You made a dash for the stairs that led outside. When you did, you stopped in your tracks as you were caught by surprise. There literally was no one around at all! It was as if all manner of civilization suddenly disappeared on you without warning. That wasn't right! It couldn't be! If that was the case, then there was no one for you to be able to go to for help! Once again, you had to run again when the monster crashed outwards. But at that point, you slumped down on the ground as your legs finally tired out. All hopes were drained from you as it closed in on you. Was it so wrong to just be starting the next stage in your life? You closed your eyes and waited for your imminent death. If you couldn't run, you wished that you could at least fly to escape. That was when you heard a voice.

_If flying is what you wish to do, then fly you shall. On the count of three... 3... 2... 1... Jump!_

You didn't know what came over you when you heard it but you took heed of its instruction anyway. The hand of the monster barely missed you when it tried to take a swipe at you. You were astonished at how high you were and only realized a couple of seconds later that you weren't falling. No, you were floating. You were staying in the air, away from the danger. The monster took a while to register its failure and turned to face you. With your newfound miracle, you were filled with confidence and have already come up with a plan to defeat it. You could see the motion of its attacks. It was painfully obvious on how it was going to try to smack you like a fly. You flew around in quick motion to confuse it and it was working quite well... until it was finally able to grab you out of luck. You panicked and attempted to worm your way out but its grip on you tightened as you struggled. You could feel your bones getting crushed slowly. It was going to be a painful way for you to go. Oh well, at least you tried... That is, until...

**_*SLASH!*_ **

Your eyes darted open when you felt the crushing feeling has stopped. You were flung out as the hand gripping you loosened and headed towards the ground. You hit the concrete with a thump but it wasn't enough to break your bones. You struggled to get up while eyeing at the fallen monster. There was a pool of blood by its neck and you saw that a part of the nape has been slashed off. You looked up to see that there was a female figure floating in mid-air with water spiralling around her feet. She was clad in robes of what looked to be from some ancient civilization and her face was hidden by a mask of aquatic inspiration, kind of like a mixture of sea creatures. You wondered if this was a set for some fantasy movie shooting but the pain from your legs told you otherwise. Just then, she was just about to fly off until you stopped her.

You: Wait! Please! Who are you?! What was that monster?! And why is everyone gone?! At least tell me what happened!

???: You are currently in a paradoxical isolation space.

You: What...? A... paradox... space...?

???: Yes, go down to the station and you'll go back to the world where everyone is.

You looked at her in complete confusion and before you noticed, she was already gone. With nothing else to look out for, you decided that you had no choice but to listen to her words. If what she said was true, then you should see people the moment you re-enter the station. With a deep breath, you went down the stairs slowly as you were still quite exhausted from your harrowing experience. You gasped in relief when you saw the first person walking past you and out the station. Her words were true and you found the station was once again bustling with the evening crowd that you had expected. And it was also in good fortune that your train came right as you reached the platform. You had no idea what just happened and you could really use a shower after the whole ordeal. You hoped that it was just a one-time event but in this story, you were so wrong...

???1: This is _Sebile_. Target has been eliminated and the civilian is safe.

???2: Good work, Sebile. Pull out and rest.

Sebile?: But...

???2: But?

Sebile?: The civilian... She displayed some powers...

???2: Is that so? Keep an eye on her until she awakens. I'll need to report this to _Hecate_.

Sebile?: What about the others?

???2: I'll instruct them to do the same. Meanwhile, you do not reveal yourself until then.

Sebile?: Understood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random trivia!  
> I'm basing the reader's university life from my own experience as I re-enter for a 2nd degree to make it as authentic as possible. It'll most likely be different for others but that's just how it is.


	2. Transformation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously, you started your new days at Trost Uni. You made new friends! Yay! But you also got attacked by a monster! What the heck?! However, you escaped death thanks to a mysterious person. Hopefully, that was just one time. Or was it...?

**֍ Magic 2: Transformation ** **֎**

Krista: [F/n], good morning!

You: Hmm? Oh, hey Krista.

You were just walking down the hallway to a classroom when you bumped into Krista. She seemed chipper as usual, even during the early morning when everyone wasn't as keen to waking up at such ungodly hour. As you sat down to wait for the teacher, you decided to chat with your new friend to keep yourself awake. She popped in the topic about the morning news concerning weird happenings in the subway station, to which some people have gone missing and found dead at random platforms. She then advised you to be extra careful especially when some of your classes or club activities would end during the evening. You could relate to that fear because you commute via subway almost every day. The news passed it off as a serial killer that has been caught loitering around near one of the bodies. But you knew the truth and remembered quite well that the real threat has already been dealt with. It had only been a few days but the memory of your near-death experience was fresh in your mind. The exhaustion of your legs... That monstrous face... The bone-crushing feeling... That lady with magical powers... You didn't tell anyone about it to not worry them. Thankfully, you recovered fast enough and thus, the pain in your body didn't seem so obvious. There was also the weekend, so yeah, plenty of time. And speaking of which, who was that person? You only realized it when you finally got home that day that you have forgotten to thank her. Oh well, there might be a chance that you would meet her again, preferably without the monster.

The event was so un-forgetful that it preoccupied your mind, distracting you away from whatever conversation that you were having. This went on even during lunch time when you didn't listen to Sasha complaining on how hungry she felt in the middle of her morning class and how she was scolded by her lecturer for attempting to ask permission to have a small snack. You also seemed to be playing with your mash potato using your fork. You didn't even realize that there were two girls calling for you until you felt a hard poke on your side which made you jump and almost drop your fork in the process. You glared at the culprit who turned out to be Mikasa but she merely looked at you with her usual blank face.

Sasha: Hey [F/n], did you even hear what I've been saying??

You: Err... Something along the line not being able to snack in class?

Sasha: Yes! And I was soooooo hungry! That lecturer was so mean for not letting me just take a bite...

Krista: Err... Sasha, I don't think you should even eat in class...

You: Let alone a class for culinary arts! Why and how did you even get into such a class??

Sasha: Well, it just so happens that my dream is to be able to work at Faerieland Pastries!

You: "Faerieland Pastries"? You mean the one in Krolva??

Krista: The one headed by the genius baker Nanaba? Ah, I remembered seeing pictures of their work! They specialize in creating something they called "faerie tale cakes"!

Sasha: Yup, that's the one! All their pastries just looked so good to you can't just look at them, you have to get a taste!

You: Why does it sound like she just wants to be in that bakery just so she could eat everything in there??

???: That's because it's probably true.

You didn't recognize that voice. You turned to see a tall girl standing behind Krista's seat with her hands by her hips. Her skin was tanned with some spots of freckles situated below her sharp eyes. Her hair was dark like Eren's and long enough to be tied into a ponytail. Her expression looked bored but not as bored as Annie when you first met her in the gym on your first day. You pondered if it was because she didn't exactly like her work or it was because of something else. Sasha attempted to retort at the girl but failed spectacularly when the latter jabbed back with the fact that her impulsive appetite was legendary. You took a good look at her. She didn't look like she was having any extra blub. If that was the case, where did all the food go?!? Maybe what that waitress said was just a farce... You were then introduced to Ymir, who so happened to be Krista's best friend who worked at the university café to get by. Judging by how overly friendly she was to goldilocks, you wondered if that was just the case.

Ymir: Hey, you're that new girl [F/n] right?

You: Err... Y-yes...?

Ymir: Listen, I just have one thing to say.

You: To not upset Krista or you'll get me?

Ymir: Whoo! Krista, you found a smart one!

You: It looked kind of obvious...

Krista: Ymir! Don't mind her, [F/n]. She's just like that with me.

While Ymir was busy fawning over Krista, you turned back to your food. You suddenly didn't have any more appetite to continue and started to get up from your seat. They asked where you were going and you replied that you were off to the next classroom before Sasha could ask whether you still wanted your mash potato. Seeing that you left abruptly, she took it as a "yes". Just as she was about to dig in, she stopped. Seeing her stopped before a food, Mikasa asked what was wrong. She pointed into the mash to show what you have drawn in it and everyone drew faces of concern.

* * *

It was a semi-normal day of afternoon class, except that you were still distracted, hence the "semi-normal". You almost got into trouble for not paying attention and doodling in class. Thank the heavens Krista was there to quickly bail you out or you would probably ended up like Sasha earlier. The first thing you did when you raced back to your home was to finish your homework as quickly as you can. You know that you have moments you love to procrastinate but a fresh new start must come with a fresh new change, and that involved making sure you dealt with your assignments first. But because it was only the second week, there wasn't much to do and in no time at all, you were soon immersing yourself in a drawing program on your laptop. You didn't notice it at first because you were blasting some music into your earphones, but when you finally took them off, you saw your phone blowing up with a plethora of messages from your group chats and one personally from Krista. You quickly opened it up and look through what she had got to say.

**[Krista**  
[F/n] **]**  
 **[** Are you alright...? **]**  
 **[** You took off after lunch... **]**  
 **[** And then you were silent the whole time... **]**  
 **[** And we didn't even see you after class... **]**  
 **[** :'( **]**

You felt bad. You felt like you owe her an explanation. But it didn't need to be the truth right? If you told her that you were attacked by some monster out-of-the-blue and in the subway station which the both of you were chatting about in the morning, she would most definitely blow your phone up with even more messages of concern. After a little bit of thinking, you thought of what to reply. Nothing complicated. A nice little white lie. You just needed to make sure she had nothing to worry about.

**[You  
** Hey Krista **]  
[**Sorry about earlier **]  
[**Been a bit distracted by some things at home **]  
[**Also needed to be home to help my mom to do some things **]**

 **[Krista  
** Oh **]  
[**It's ok **]  
[**I understand **]  
[**But don't do that again >:( **]**

 **[You  
** Haha **]  
[**Kk **]**

You chuckled to yourself. Krista reminded you of a really worried best friend, except that you didn't really have one. Because ever since you started having those weird dreams, you tried to tell people about it but they all pass you off as having an overactive imagination. Nobody believed you, not even your parents. People started distancing themselves from you. The ones who used to hang out with you left, reasoning that they didn't want to be associated with a freak. Whenever there were new students, the other kids would tell them that you were crazy. Soon enough, you started numbing yourself out with only drawings as your stress outlets. Long story short, they sucked. A ringtone snapped you back from bad memory lane to reality. You looked at the text on your screen.

**[Krista  
** By the way... **]  
[**I have something you dropped **]  
[**Could we meet up at the subway station so that I can pass it to you? **]**

 **[You  
** Huh? **]  
[**What thing? **]  
[**I don't think I remember dropping anything :S **]**

 **[Krista  
** I'm by the uni **]**  
 **[** Near the station **]**

 **[You  
** Why would you stay at the uni so late?? **]**

 **[Krista  
** I was waiting for a friend **]**

 **[You  
** Could you give it back to me during uni tomorrow? **]**

 **[Krista  
** It'll be a quick one **]  
[**Promise! **]**

 **[You  
** Alright **]  
[**Fine **]  
[**I'll let you know when I'm near **]**

That was weird indeed. You knew her to not be someone who stays up late but seeing that she was waiting for a friend, it could have been Ymir. You put your phone down and went straight to your bag and took everything out. Textbooks, sketchbooks, stationeries and some random papers littered your bed. You slowly sorted them out before putting all of them back into your bag. It didn't look like you missed anything out. Still, she claimed to have something you dropped which you didn't remember. Maybe it was some paper form? Or was it one of your sketchbooks? No, that couldn't be it. You would know if you lost any because marked every one of them. You racked your head for any more possibilities but couldn't. In the end, the only way to find out was to go to her yourself. You quickly changed into something comfortable for a short trip. Before your hand headed for your hooded jacket, it instead reached for your feather choker. You never leave without it. It was pretty much your good luck charm. Whenever something bad happened, you always got you out of it in one piece, one way or another. It didn't stop you from getting hurt in the process though, like that experience with the monster a few days ago, but you still got out alive. Once you zipped your jacket up, you went downstairs to inform your parents of your little excursion before putting on your shoes. Just as you touched the door knob ever so slightly, you felt a slight jolt on your fingertip.

_Don't go!_

Huh? Was that a voice you heard? You looked around to see that both of your parents in the living room enjoying an episode of their favourite television show. You called out to them asking whether they said anything to you but they replied saying that they didn't. With a shrug, you headed out.

* * *

As you were walking, a night breeze blew by. In an effort to keep warm in this chilly spring weather, you put your hands into your jacket pocket. You never really did this before, having a walk outside your home on your own in what you considered as late hours by your standards. The weather was kind of nice, you thought. Maybe you should try to doing it more often. You noticed that there were some people just chilling around the streets with their friends or on their own. The park would have sounded like a great place for a quiet hangout but there was no way you were going there without a friend to accompany you. Safety first, they always said. You never know what sort of weirdo that could be lurking in there. There were shops that were still opened but you paid no attention. You had an errand to deal with. You hurried over to the subway station and rode your train. The moment your foot touched the platform, you felt another jolt, a tiny bit stronger than before.

_Stop!_

You looked around you in alarm. You definitely heard something and despite it being an hour before closing time, there was no one around. Again. You got the familiar feeling of ominosity. The station looked brightly lit but the air felt weird. You knew something was about to happen but you had no clue. You put on your hood and sped your pace to go up the stairs.

_It's a trap!_

There it was again! And this time, you remembered that voice. You had hoped that the whole experience a few days ago was just a simple nightmare but clearly this wasn't the case. You were practically running and reached the exit in no time at all. You were panting because you weren't expecting that little race. After you caught your breath, you looked around. Where could Krista be? She did mention that she was by the station near the university. Perhaps she decided to take a walk around or maybe sit at one of the benches. You pulled out your phone when you heard a tone for a message received.

**[Unknown number  
** [BEHIND YOU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0WSANB6cW8&t=) **]**

_Behind you!_

You reacted quickly enough to dodge a sharp wind and landed a good few feet away on the ground. Looking up, you saw what looked to be a big clawed hand at the spot where you were standing. Looking even higher, you saw no Krista. Nope. It was another one of them. It looked as ugly as the last one the other day but this one was more slender and grotesquely deformed with such skinny ribs that didn't quite fit its protruding hip bones. Greasy long hair hardly obscured the menacingly hungry grin it bore on its creepy face. It was a terrible expression and it would have been a terrible fate for you if you hadn't dodge it earlier. You crawled backwards as it laughed. Soon enough, you got up and bolted the other direction. Looking back, you noticed that it retracted its hand before stretching it towards your direction. Since you saw it coming, you dodged it again and again but you knew that it wouldn't be long that you would tire again. But wait! Weren't you able to do it that time? Yes! Maybe if you could distract it long enough, help would come again! Closing your eyes, you prayed really hard for that miracle to come again. But the monster's relentless attacks only made it harder for you. Just what was it you thought of that made you float that day? You remembered that you had to jump so you tried jumping, and jumping, and jumping again but to no avail. You stopped because it was not only tiring but it made you look like a silly little frog vainly trying to escape some prey. Your exhaustion made you grip upon a nearby tree. You looked at the incoming monster. If it wasn't going to be that monster, then maybe it would be this one to kill you.

_Think about flying! Jump! Fly!_

You heard the voice loud and clear, and without hesitation, you filled your thoughts with the images of birds and jumped as instructed. This time, you were in the air again. It was as you had hoped. That voice has heard your prayers and now you could begin your counter-attack. Taking advantage of its ability of stretching its arms, you hoped to use your re-found flying ability to tangle it up. Problem was that you weren't moving fast enough for that to happen, only to barely dodge its ugly claws but you were doing better than the last time. You knew you couldn't keep fleeing forever and you definitely wouldn't want it running around free to kill others in the vicinity. What if there wasn't anyone around to help you this time? You needed to be on the offensive. If only you had the means to fight back, just like that lady that day. You suddenly had a thought. If you could float, maybe you could do something like that water lady. It would look stupid but at least it was worth a try. Like a video game character, with a hand outstretched, you thought of something, maybe like water? Then you heard the voice again. It told you to think of something more like the wind. Fluid, yes, but quicker and sharper.

There was a cool breeze. You felt your hair being blown back gently. There was a warm glow upon your palm and you were amazed at the development. But that awe was short lived when you remembered that there was a hungry monster walking towards you. In a sense of fear and urgency, you wished of pushing it back, to give yourself more time to get accustomed to the strange occurrence happening before you. And before you knew it, a stronger, sharper wind hit the monster in its face. Gravity took over and it was thanks to its deformed body that it was taking some time getting back up. You couldn't believe it. You just wished for something and it really did happen. Again, another miracle.

_It's time to strike back! Call upon the mystic power!_

You saw a light and realized that it was coming from somewhere below your neck before you were engulfed in it. In that moment, you felt something sparked within you. It tickled your senses as it tingled with such vibrancy. An unknown power surged from your heart, through your veins, all the way to tips of your digits. A tornado churned from within but you didn't feel like you were sucked in. No, you were the eye of the storm. You were the one in control of it. That power was within your grasp and you took it. It was invigorating, like as if you just came out of a nice cool bath from a hot day. When you opened your eyes from the blinding light, the first thing that caught your sight was the presence of cloth hovering in mid-air. Tracing it back to its source, it was attached to you. You then realized that you were wearing something wholly different. Long flowing robes of shimmering beige with a shine of jade, fluffy feathers and gems of sky-blue decorated the satin fabric that wrapped your body. A crown of feathers adorned your head as your hair waved in the wind that only existed within your space.

You had no time to look upon your new form when you saw the monster's claw coming at you. Funnily enough, this time it looked comically slow, like as if time really slowed down. You only need to turn your body a bit and the creature completely missed its mark and landed in the concrete ground. You tried kicking it with the best of your strength but that plan didn't work too well since it didn't even budge. Oh well, at least you tried... You almost got hit by its other hand until you shouted for it to stay away. A strong wind blew by and in that instant, the hand that was coming at you was flying in the other direction. Blood spurted from its wound. The monster recoiled violently and screamed in horrible pain. Things were looking up. You could fight back. Without hesitation or any questioning thoughts, you went straight for the kill. With a swiping motion of your arm, you conjured a slicing wind as sharp as your intent and beheaded the monster right at the middle of its neck. Its ugly head rolled off onto the ground. Its creepy grin stay plastered on its grotesque face but it didn't look so creepy anymore. Its body fell and crashed like a tree being felled and stayed limp. Blood oozed from its wounds, forming a large puddle of red shining in the dim glow of the street lights. Steam formed and hissed as the corpse started to rot away into oblivion and the puddle of blood evaporated in an alarming pace.

When the whole ordeal was over, you realized that you kind of forgotten to breathe. With a deep breath, you stared at the scene to process everything that has happen. You flew straight to the nearby fountain and gazed upon your reflection. To say that you were shocked would only be half true. You were in complete awe with the new look. It only dawned on you that you now somewhat resembled the water lady from that day, sans the mask. But something else caught your attention. You spotted something peeping from behind your shoulder. You turned around in haste but saw nothing. Until it popped up right in your face...

???: Hi!

You: Waargh!!

???: Aah! Wait! Don't shoot!

Your hand was prepared to conjure up another slicing wind but when you heard its plea, you immediately stopped. In that moment of ceasefire, you got a good look at your mystery creature. It looked like a tiny young girl with ears too long to be normal. Her long hair and short feathery dress swayed in its own wind as she hovered in place. She was emanating a soft glow of golden to jade that made her looked like a firefly from afar. Lastly, as you noticed with a slight head tilt, she sported one fully grown wing while the other looked kind of like a stump of something that has been amputated. You pointed at the distinct feature and enquired her about it. Her jade-green eyes burst open and she inspected her back. She seemed to display great sadness and shame upon seeing it. You felt really bad about pointing it out that you hastily thought about changing the topic.

You: Ah! I'm so sorry! Err...! Erm... So, what's your name and what are you...?

???: Oh, right! My name's Xillia and I'm your familiar!

You were glad that she perked back up pretty quickly. But wait, did she say "your familiar"? The last time you remember reading about "familiars", you were reading one of your comic books that involved witches, wizards, sorcery, magic and the likes. You looked at her completely confused but she kept a face of innocent enthusiasm. Was this going to be a case of meeting another Krista?

Xillia: No, I don't think so. I don't even know who this "Krista" is.

You: Wait, did you just read my mind??

Xillia: No, I just read the text above.

You: Oh yeah... It's just stated up there...

**_(Ok, I really need to stop giving characters the ability to break the fourth wall...)_ **

You: Anyway, did you just say you're a "familiar"?

Xillia: Yes, that's what I am. I'm your familiar, here to assist you against those things.

You: So... What exactly are you? Are you like... a sylph maybe...?

Xillia: Pretty much. We familiars come in many form but we all originate from the same source.

You: Which is...?

Xillia: We call it the "Mystic Source" but even I'm not sure myself. All I know is that I'm now properly awake and can assist you fully.

You: Wait, what do you mean "awake"? How long have you been sleeping?

Xillia: Well, I've been somewhat asleep for as long as I can remember, since the day when I was held by you for the first time.

You: But I've never seen you before.

Xillia: You have. I've always been with you and most of the time, I've been dangling by your neck.

You: "Dangling by my neck"?

You instinctively moved one of your hands to your collar. It then dawned on you on what she was implying. All this time, you had it on you whenever you were on the move. All this time, some mysterious force protected you from danger. All this time... You looked up to Xillia again. You didn't notice it before but you noticed it now. Her sole wing had markings at the tip of the feathers that looked like they had been seared and roughed up. It was true. She had been with you for as long as you can remember.

You: You've been protecting me the whole time.

Xillia: Yep, that's true. You weren't aware of it but it was me.

You: Then, was it you that told me to jump that day?

Xillia: Yes, that was me too.

You: If that was the case... Why only then? Why do you appear to me only now?

Xillia: Hmm... I think... I only started to wake up when you were chased by that thing. But now, you were in danger by the same kind of creature and that woke me up completely.

You: Speaking of which, when I got you, I had weird dreams. One of them showed those monsters. What has getting that feather, then you, got to do with them?

Xillia: Beats me. But I'm sure we'll find out about it sooner or later.

You: I guess so. Anyway, let's get out of here. I think I'm in one of those weird paradox space thing again.

Xillia: Yes, you are in one. All you just need to do is exit from where you first felt it.

You: The subway station again. Two attacks in the same area. Can't exactly be a coincidence at this point. Also, I got a feeling that you're not exactly supposed to be seen.

Xillia: Bingo! I don't think it's a good idea for me to be casually seen. And speaking of being seen, I think you shouldn't be going around in public like that too.

You looked down at yourself and realized that you were still in that fantastical garb while floating in mid-air. She made a really good point. If anyone seen her or you looking like that, they would definitely take pictures of videos of the whole event and it would also end up putting them in danger of those monsters. You would not want to be responsible for such chaos potentially happening. You quickly got the gist of making a smooth landing and changed back to your normal clothing in an instant with a short burst of light. Xillia followed behind before disappearing and reappearing as the feather from your choker. You hurried back into the station and looked at the clock on the wall. Surprisingly, the whole event, which felt like an hour or so, only went by in a few minutes. And in good fortune, you were able to catch a ride back home and keep your parents from worrying. The moment you reached your room, you washed up and immediately hit the hay. After experiencing near-death twice in a row, being alive and being able to sleep in your comfortable bed felt like the best thing ever. Also, you have planned to have a word with a certain somebody...

???: _Grimhildr_ , this is _Baba Yaga_ reporting.

Grimhildr?: Yes, Baba Yaga?

Baba Yaga?: The target has awakened. She's one of us now.

Grimhildr?: I see. I'll report to _Hecate_ about this. We'll move to bringing her in by this week.

Baba Yaga?: Got it then. _Perimede_ , you heard her.

Perimede?: Ooh! One more for the crowd! This is going to be soooo awesome!

Baba Yaga?: Yeah, let's go home and sleep. Watching something without doing anything bored me out.

* * *

You: Kristaaaaaaaa!!

Krista: [F/n]! What is it?!

You: What is the meaning of this?!? You called me out at night time only to sic some sick joke on me?!

Krista: What??

On the next morning, you immediately went to find Krista the moment you reached the university. It didn't take long to find her since she was in the same class as you and thus, you would be able to bump in to her on the way. But when you confronted her about last night's experience in the most vague yet realistically possible way, she looked at you in utmost bewilderment. You showed her your phone with the messages and it doubled her confusion. She pointed out that she never got any of your messages to which she showed you her phone. You scanned the phone and was rendered confused as well. How was that possible?! Her phone screen only showed the chat log up until the point that you agreed not to pull off your distant behaviour from the previous day. You took a double take on your phone. Your phone screen clearly showed that you chatted a bit more to her about wanting to meet up to reclaim something that you may have dropped. She looked at your phone again and put on a face for deep thoughts. She recommend that you take it to a phone shop to get it checked out to which you agreed. She mentioned that she knew of one trusted place to which she offered to take you to after class on the next day. Although you were a bit sceptical, you agreed because it would mean saving your main method of communication and one of your sources of entertainment. You just got too many downloaded games, comics and images to lose in there! After setting an appointed time, you went about your day like normal.

Xillia: Hey, [F/n]. What's this?

You: That's a desk lamp. You pushed the button, like so, and it lights up. But don't touch the bulb. It gets really hot.

You were minding your own creative business on your laptop while teaching Xillia about some of the things she asked around in your room. Seeing her getting amazed by the world around, she was like an Alice in Wonderland which you found her to be quite amusing. You noted her to be a very inquisitive soul, sometimes a little too much that you had to step in to restrain her, to protect her from getting hurt by things that would be considered mundane everyday items by humans. It was very normal of a sylph like her, you thought. It felt like you suddenly just gained a new little sibling and you had no problems with that. Well, maybe except the few rambunctious rascals called your little cousins from your relatives... You remembered some of them to be spoilt little brats but Xillia was different. After a while of drawing, you paused to save your work. You instructed her to stay put and hide in case anyone else came about while you go get a snack. She didn't need to wait that long because you came back with a piece of cake atop a small plate.

Ever since her appearance, you have always wondered, do familiars need to eat or consume something for energy? You enquired her about it and she chirped that it was not necessarily needed because they don't actually feel hunger but the act of consuming can still be engaged for pleasure or healing and such. You offered her some of your cake to which she joyfully accepted. You watched her get some of the cream smearing her rosy cheeks as she messily ate a piece. Like a mother to her child, you lightly scolded her for getting herself messy and proceeded to wipe the cream off with a wet wipe. You then noticed how she was eyeing at the strawberry you set aside on your plate. You knew she was curious about the fruit. So big and brilliantly red, plump and full of juice. You picked it up and handed it over to her. She was startled by the sudden gesture by you assured her that she can have the whole thing if she so desired. Her only wing fluttered. It matched the intensity of the joy and pleasure as she slowly savoured the taste of the fruit without care that it was slightly glazed with clear sugary syrup. The mix of the sweet and sour would forever be stuck in her mind as the best moment of her life. It really was quite an amusing sight.

Xillia: So... That blonde girl... She's Krista?

You: Yep, that's her. She's a nice person.

Xillia: Hmm...

You: What's up?

Xillia: I felt like I sensed something from her...

You: What thing? Is it bad?

Xillia: No, nothing like that. I hope... Anyway, I sensed the same type of energy coming from her.

You: Same type of energy? You mean like, something like yours or whatever I just went through earlier?

Xillia: Yup, the mystical energy from the Mystic Source.

You: Come to think of it, I don't know whether it's just me or I did feel something strange off from some of the girls I met in the uni... But if that water lady exists and now me, I think there's a possibility that there might be more like her.

Xillia: Most likely. I did say that familiars can come in different forms so the chances are high that there are others who also have familiars like me. I got a feeling that this Krista is one of them.

You: You think so? I guess there's no way of knowing until we actually see it ourselves. Speaking of which, I'm meeting up and going out with her about my phone tomorrow. Since you mentioned that, I'm quite curious to see whether what you've just assumed is true.

Xillia: Yeah. I'll stay hidden until then. I'll come out if anything bad happens.

And so the two of you decided on the plan to go along with the outing with Krista. This time, you agreed to it with more confidence because you had someone, even if she was not human, with you. You knew that your life was going to go crazier but how so? Hoo boy! You had no idea...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random trivia!  
> Did you know that Nanaba is "banana" backwards? Isayama Hajime said that her hair reminded him of the fruit so she was named so. Plus, according to him, she was noted by Mike to have the best smell, which comes off as a fruity smell. Maybe banana...?


	3. Initiation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously, you got attacked... again. However, you transformed into a magical fighter and managed to kill the monster. You also gained a new friend by the name of Xillia, who said she was your familiar. What did that mean? Also, Krista invited you out to get your smartphone checked but after your second near-death encounter, you had hesitations but decided to go with it anyway. Can you really trust her...?

**֍ Magic 3: Initiation ** **֎**

You: Oof! Middle of the week and we're already getting group assignments...

Krista: Well, it can't be helped. But it's not that bad right?

You: I guess...?

To you, group assignments really were not your forte, mostly because of what you had to go through in your past. People abandoning you for your "overactive imagination", calling you a crazy freak and such. It was torture. When you had to do group assignments back in the day, your group members had to so much as to "tolerate your presence". You barely passed those bits but it was better than having to redo them. Krista automatically partnered up with you and the both of you decided to take Jean in since the scene of him being left out just reminded you of your past and first day rather painfully. Needless to say, he was very grateful to that but on the condition that he didn't slack out from group work to which he would make sure to "perform diligently for the angels who saved him from the hell called abandonment". You weren't quite sure whether he was just reading off from some line from a play to prepare for his intended pursuit of performing arts major or to genuinely flirt with you, but the both of you clearly weren't too impressed and shrugged it off.

The end of your classes finally came in the late afternoon. You had already informed your parents about your planned outing with Krista about your phone. Sitting on a bench outside the university, you waited for Krista to settle some of her stuff. As you were waiting, you were doodling your first encounter with Bertolt in your sketchbook. After you were done, you took a photo of it and uploaded it into your group chat. You were supposed to get it checked out with Krista later but you found out that most of its basic functions were still working fine. It was just that one bit from two evenings ago. That one strange little chat with supposedly "Krista" that got you attacked by a monster which thankfully, you made it out alive in one piece while the latter in pieces. It didn't take long for almost everyone else to reply to your message.

**[You  
** [Image of a not-so-amused Bertolt dressed in a tree costume being used by cats] **]  
[**I'm sorry Bertolt ^^;; **]**

**[Reiner  
** HAHAHAHAHA!! X'D **]**

**[Bertolt  
** What the heck...? **]**

**[You  
** I'm sorry! **]  
[**I couldn't help it! **]**

**[Connie  
** LOL **]**

**[Eren  
** LOL **]**

**[Sasha  
** Lol **]**

**[Jean  
** Bertolt the cat tree? **]**

**[You  
** Tree actually  
But yep **]**

**[Jean  
** LOL X'D **]**

**[Marco  
** Haha  
I remembered this  
That's cute! **]**

**[Krista  
** Ikr? **]**

**[Ymir  
** I approve *thumbs up* **]**

**[Reiner  
** Oh yeah!  
Definitely! XD **]**

**[Bertolt  
** _@Reiner @Ymir_ -_- **]**

You chuckled at the interaction between the noisier members of the group chat. Now I did mention "almost everyone" because you noted that Mikasa, Annie and Armin don't talk as much which was perfectly fine with you. They were taking your drawing in exactly as how you wished for but you felt bad for the big guy so you quickly doodled a new drawing, took a picture and uploaded it into the group chat.

**[You  
** [Image of normal Bertolt sleeping by a tree with kittens around] **]**

**[Krista  
** Aww~!  
So cute! <3 **]**

**[Reiner  
** Aww **]**

**[Ymir  
** _@Krista_ Still not as cute as you ;) **]**

**[Armin  
** Haha  
That's cute **]**

**[Marco  
** That's so cute!  
Is this your way of saying sorry? **]**

**[You  
** What if I said yes? **]**

**[Bertolt  
** You're already forgiven  
It's cute **]**

**[Reiner  
** Something is missing **]**

**[You  
** What? **]**

**[Bertolt  
** _@Reiner_ Don't you dare! **]**

**[Reiner  
** _@You_ You need to prop Bertl sleeping in reverse **]**

**[You  
** What?? O_O **]**

**[Connie  
** Yeah  
Bertolt sleeps in very weird positions  
You should really see them **]**

**[Bertolt  
** Guys! **]**

**[Jean  
** Oh yeah  
The good old times where we play a game guessing the weather with his sleeping position **]**

**[You  
** Wait **]  
[**Seriously??? **]**

**[Eren  
** Yup  
Good old times  
Did anyone keep track of how many times we got it right? **]**

**[Reiner  
** Nope **]**

**[Connie  
** Nope **]**

**[Jean  
** Lost count **]**

**[Marco  
** Haha XD  
Sounded like fun **]**

**[Bertolt  
** Guys, please stop... T_T **]**

**[Reiner  
** I got pictures  
Who want? **]**

**[Ymir  
** Share please! **]**

**[Bertolt  
** _@Reiner_ DON'T YOU EVER DARE! >8( **]**

You were giggling at the guys spilling some tea about the big guy's weird sleeping habits. At the same time, you were envious at how close they all were. Something you wished that you had in your past. Your wait was finally over when you heard Krista calling for you. You packed your stuff up and followed her. She mentioned that the place the both of you were going to was somewhere in the city. You looked up at the signs to try to remember the directions for future reference. While you were onboard the train with her, you finally understood what Xillia told you the previous night. You didn't notice it before but you did now. There was a presence by her side. It felt like Xillia yet not like her. You concentrated on looking for the source but the PA system announcing your stop broke you from your little mission. Krista got out onto the platform and you quickly followed suit to avoid being swallowed up by the commuting crowd.

* * *

You have never been into the inner part of Trost before so this would mark your first time. You heard the click of a camera to which you found out the Krista has took a picture and uploaded it into the group chat captioning that it was your first time into the big city. You had chances but you never really got to them either due to helping out with chores or procrastinating in bed, except for your first weekend because that time you were recovering from your first near-death encounter. While the both of you were walking, she took the time to introduce you to some of the other shops around like the mall, cafes, boutiques and more. She mentioned that the place you needed to go to was in the mall so the both of you headed there. As you stepped into the complex, you suddenly felt a strange feeling. Oh but it was familiar, one that you wished that it wasn't so. You followed her up one floor by the escalator and when you reached the second floor, you realized something was up. Once again, the floor was devoid of people which immediately put you in an alarmed state because you clearly remembered seeing people when looking up from the ground floor. Krista suddenly going missing made it worse. Did she know that you were suddenly out of sight?

You made slow paces forward, shakily but tightly holding onto Xillia's feather as you scanned the surrounding. All of the shops looked open with their lights brightly lit gave you some comfort. The walkways, however, gave a completely different vibe. Once again, they were dimly lit with some of the bulbs flickering, just like back at the subway. You can feel that the presence of your enemies around when the air felt thicker than usual. You stuck close to the shops, hoping that their lights would deter your would-be attacker. Right on time, Xillia appeared before you. She wore a face of caution and bravery trying to mask the fear that was reflected in her eyes which matched yours. You may have faced these monsters twice but you still hated getting into situations like these. I mean, who likes getting jump-scares?

Xillia: Be careful. I sense at least two of them in the area.

You: Two?! As if one isn't enough to ruin anyone's day!

Xillia: I can't tell exactly where they're hiding but my biggest bet would be the shadows.

You: Typical. All the more reason to stay near the shops.

[***POOF!***](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0WSANB6cW8&t=)

Just as you said that, one of the shops about four lots away from you had its lights snuffed out with a bang. A creepy low growl could be heard after that.

Xillia: Did you have to jinx that...?!

You: Hey, I was told that I'm not supposed to have this bad luck!

***POOF!***

Again, another one went off with sparks, and another in an alarming rate. The both of you agreed that whatever did this weird space was definitely coming and that you needed to move fast. You braced through the shadows in between your safe zones and raced away from the incoming danger. One by one, the bulbs exploded. Xillia urged you to transform which you immediately took heed and grabbed onto the feather on your choker. A small tornado formed and wrapped around you before exploding in a flash burst, revealing you in your feathery garb.

**_(What? Did you expect to see a step-by-step moment of how you transformed with glitters and sparkles? No, no, no. Transformations are actually done in an instant. Look, if that whole thing was to be dragged out in real time, any smart villain just needs to kill you while you twirl around mid-transformation and boom! Problem solved for them!)_ **

The light from your transformation allowed you to see a shape for a short while. You quickly flew towards the centre of the mall where it was a void. You were quite convinced that the creatures were grounded and would be unable to reach you. The only problem now was to locate them and minimize collateral damage and wasting your energy since you had no idea how long you could stay in your new form. You squinted your eyes at the second floor where you first saw them briefly in the hopes to catch them.

***POOF!***

Yet another shop light went out. You immediately knew that the creatures hated the light and since there were two, one or both of them were probably taking out the lights so that they could move more freely. At this point, the only light that wouldn't be snuffed out would be the soft glow from Xillia. You readied your hand and shot a slicing wind at where you believed the next targeted shop would be. Luckily for you, you heard your wind hitting a live target before it could destroy the next bulb. You saw blood splattering by the floor and a lean clawed arm flew across in the light. You definitely amputated one of its limbs but that wouldn't do. As you have learned from the last two encounters, striking by the neck area would instantly kill them. You need to get the next shot right. Suddenly, there was a flash of light on that floor.

???: Quick! Hurry!

The light not only lit up the whole of the second floor which helped reveal the creatures but it also blinded them. You finally got a good view of your attackers. Like what Xillia had mentioned, there were indeed two of them but they didn't even look humanoid. Instead, they were on all four with their long, lean limbs ending with clawed hands. Their bodies were gangly and emaciated, with their ribcages so painfully obvious, they looked like starved spiders with sagging human-like skin. Long tongues slicked with saliva dangled from their mouths so wide that both ends touched their ears that they formed the creepy grin that you so dreaded to see. Their bulbous eyes closed to shield their sight from the sudden light. You got closer and spotted the one with one of its legs you sliced off earlier. Quickly running a cutting wind at its weak point, you effectively decapitated it. By the time you moved in and killed the first one, the other one just recovered from its temporary blindness. To say that it was avenging its buddy was a myth but it didn't hesitated to lunge at you when it spotted you. You didn't manage to dodge in time and landed on the ground with a heavy thump. Its claws dug into your skin, drawing a bit of crimson. You tried to kick it off you but even your legs were pinned down. It buried its claws deeper into you which earned a pained grunt from you. Xillia panicked and tried to blow it off you but she was on the weak side and ended up getting swatted away. Its disgusting visage was dangerously close to you. You knew what would entail if you don't do something quick.

Suddenly from out of nowhere, a shield of pure light appeared between you and the monster. It bounced the creature off from you, freeing you from its grasp. It didn't stop there. The shield then scooped it and pinned it up onto the ceiling with a hard impact, resulting in some debris falling and knocking it out, before disappearing in sparkles. The unknown voice from earlier shouted for you to quickly take the opportunity. A cutting wind lashed out from your palm but it missed its mark and hit the ceiling because the body fell. You didn't want to take any chance so you darted towards it and delivered the killing blow with your own wind-infused hand. Much to your disgust, its blood spurted out from the stump and sprayed some onto you. Thankfully, it evaporated as quickly as the corpse of the monster rotted away into nothingness.

You got up with some difficulty and reverted back to your normal self. The monster has definitely left quite an impression on you. This was the first time you got hurt and it hurt pretty bad in your opinion. Xillia flew straight to you full of concern but you reassured her that you were fine while clutching one of the wounds on your shoulder. The both of you heard another sound and that sent you in a very alarmed state. You were injured rather badly and not transformed. You really couldn't afford to get attacked again. Your familiar was not in so much of a state of caution like you but she still kept one just in case. From afar, you saw a glow slowly coming your way. You hid your free hand to prepare for any nasty surprises but that never came. Instead, you were greeted by a female of petite figure. She was clad in white robes reminiscent of nuns and priestesses from fantasy. Her face was obscured by a Venetian style mask of intricate details and colours, and covered in glitter. Her back had a pair of wings of pure white feathers folded behind which projected an image of a guardian angel upon her.

???: Are you alright?

You: Err... Who are you?

???: I've been given the name of "Perimede".

You: Are you friend or foe?

Perimede?: Definitely friend. I helped you with the light and shield.

You: Yep, you definitely looked like the one who would conjure those. Thanks, I really appreciate it.

Perimede?: No problem! But you're hurt!

You: Err... Yeah...

Perimede?: Stay still. Let me heal you.

The one named "Perimede" stopped you from moving anymore and gently grounded you on the spot. She removed your hand clutching your shoulder and held out her hand over your wound. A bright glow appeared around the area. You first felt a sting but later it was replaced with a warm, soothing sensation. You looked at your wound in astonishment. Slowly but surely, the blood that was oozing before evaporated. The open skin closed on its own as if nothing had happened. She repeated the same action on the rest of your wounds where the monster had clawed you. You were completely healed in no time at all.

Xillia: Wow, you're all healed up!

You: Yeah, thanks for that!

Perimede?: You're welcome! That's my main job.

You: Can I make a guess that we're in some paradox space thing again?

Perimede?: You mean the "paradoxical isolated space"? Yes, you are.

You: Yeah, I don't think I'll remember the name that easily...

Perimede?: You're not the only one... It's quite a mouthful. Honestly, I'm surprised you know about it.

You: Someone once mentioned it to me. Speaking of which, are you related that someone who floats with water?

Perimede?: Someone floating on water? Oh! You must've met Sebile then!

You: "Sebile"? So there really are more of you!

Perimede?: You seem pretty well informed.

You: Not really. I just take guesses. After two attacks by those things, I don't think anything is a coincidence anymore...

Perimede?: In that case, let me take you to a place where you can get your questions answered.

You: Wait, I was with a friend. Krista! Where is she? Is she safe?!

Perimede?: Don't worry, she's quite safe. In fact, you'll see her soon.

You: Ok...? So do I just exit the paradox space then?

Perimede?: Oh, about that. I was the one who made it.

You: What...?

Perimede?: Uh, it's complicated. I'll tell you when we get there. For now, let's go.

You: To where??

Perimede gave no indication on what was next. However, she did instruct you to hold her hand because it was the only way for you to go to whatever place you needed to go to right now. You told Xillia to stick close and she did exactly just that. Upon grabbing her hand, you felt like you were sucked into the darkness of somewhere. Your eyes were closed in admitted fear. It felt like you've just been from a rough ride but in fact, the whole thing happened in an instant. She called out to you that the both of you have reached your destination. You slowly opened your eyes... What you saw not only made your eyes stay open, [your jaw was also agape](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOoY1cJ23Lk).

* * *

The scene before you looked like it was taken straight out of a fantasy book. On the floating island you were grounded on, there were multiple crystals all around, floating idly in the air. Their mystical energies casted a soft glow, dyeing the environment in mixes of purple and blue. A fortress of pure crystal stood proudly before you. Its imposing giant doors, once closed, now opened before you. You let yourself in after Perimede. The foyer was grander than its entrance. More crystals lined the huge room. They seemed to react to both of your presences as they glowed when you walked near them. Even if the prospect of exploration was high and nigh, you had to restrain Xillia from flying off on her own to ensure her safety.

Perimede?: [F/n], welcome to Caer Lloyw!

Upon her announcing your presence, seven other figures appeared by the stairs that surrounded the hall. All of them seemed to be female and clad in their own unique costumes. You spotted the one by the name of "Sebile" as you recognized her mask. You felt a strange sense of familiarity upon looking at some of them. Xillia, who was riding by your shoulder, was startled by their appearances and hid under your hair, only letting out just enough of her face to peep through. One of the figures came downstairs with her arms outstretched in welcoming you. She was clad in what seemed to be a doctor's coat over her shirt and pencil skirt. Behind her pharaoh-like mask which obviously looked out of place, her voice boomed with elation.

???: Welcome, welcome!

You: Err... Who are you ladies...? It looks like you're all a group or something.

???: Oh, pardon my rudeness! Allow me to introduce myself, I'm called " _Hecate_ " here, but...

With a wave of her hand, the mask that hid her face disappeared as if it dissolved into nothingness. The lady revealed herself to be an adult brunette with her somewhat oily hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore spectacles with a strange gold accessory dangling from the side of the frame over her brown eyes and a big smile. Now that you knew the face of one, you were curious to see the rest.

???: I'm more known as Hange Zoe. Nice to meet you [F/n]!

You: How do you know my name??

Hange: Oh, we've been expecting you! See, we were actually waiting for this day to come. We've been keeping an eye on you ever since your first real encounter with a titanling.

You: A "titanling"...?

Hange: Yes, those monsters that have been attacking you. We called them that.

You: Wait, if you've been watching me, then how did you guys even know where the next attack happened?

Hange: I just said it. We've been watching you ever since. The Witches have been all around you to see witness your awakening.

You: "Witches"?? "All around me"??

You put your thinking cap on for a short while and then it finally dawned on you. You had an inkling of what might have been going on. Xillia's assumption... The strange feeling around Krista... Perimede's words from earlier... Could it all have been...?!

Hange: Yup, you guessed it! Your dear friend Krista is one of us too! And she's just right beside you the whole time!

You: Wait, what?!??

You looked beside you. "Perimede" placed her hand over her mask and took it off. It was exactly as that Hange lady has stated. Behind the mask was a face you were all too familiar with. It was the face of Krista, your dear friend whom you were quite worried for her safety when you believed that you got separated earlier. For the whole time in the mall, Krista had been with you. Krista had been the one who helped you fight against those monsters. Krista had been the one who healed your wounds. Krista was...

**A "Witch"...**

Upon the revelation, you were too shocked for words. She gave you a sheepish smile and quietly whispered an apology. Wait a second! If Krista was here, then wouldn't that mean...?! You looked around at some of the other figures. Squinting your eyes and going by the hunch that was nagging in your mind, you had been hanging out with them all along in the university.

Hange: I see that you've realized it. Yes, you have already met some of the others. Let's reintroduce ourselves again, shall we? I've already done mine.

Hange started off with the one named "Morgana" who reappeared before you in a burst of flames. She was clad in Hizuru influenced robes with scale-like ornaments decorating the fabric like armour. Her colours were reminiscent of dancing flames whenever she moved. You already had a good guess on her identity before her dragon mask disappeared in flames to reveal Mikasa. When the name "Paduril" was announced, she flipped herself down from the railing and landed on a giant flower which magically grew on the ground right before she made an impact. Clad in druid inspired robes and although masked by an imposing deer mask, the face was only that of the friendly glutton Sasha. Next was "Sebile", the lady of water who saved you the first time. She surfed her way down on a torrent water floating below her feet. You had wondered who it was and today, the answer was finally revealed to you. It was none other than Annie, the unbothered senior you saw once at the gym. After that, "Baba Yaga" appeared behind you hanging from a shiny string. She was clad in dark tattered robes with some web designs blanketing some of the holes. You really had no idea who it was and was surprised to find out that it was Ymir, the waitress of the university café. When you thought about it, her position seemed like a good spot to hear of strange news from other people.

There were two more ladies in normal clothes who walked down and positioned themselves behind Hange. The first one, a lady of dark hair and sporting some freckles which made her looking like a relative of Ymir in typical journalist clothing, introduced herself as Ilse. The last one, a tall woman with super short blonde hair and sharp eyes in what seemed to be a chef's uniform, plainly said she was Nanaba. When you heard the name, you were shocked. The genius baker and head of Faerieland Pastries was also a "Witch"?!

Hange: And that's everyone at the moment!

You: Wait, there are more??

Hange: Now that we're done with the introduction, let's get on with initiation!

You: Wait, what "initiation"??

Ilse: Erm, Hange? Don't you think it's not a nice thing to suddenly force someone to join something they're not sure of?

Hange: Oh yes... You're right... Excuse my little outburst earlier but [F/n], we would like to ask you something.

You: Yes?

Hange: We would like to extend our invitation to you join our coven.

You: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute! You referred yourself as "Witches" and now you just said "coven". How do I know you're not going on about sacrificing goats or eating children or even actually be in cahoots with those monsters??

Right after your own little outburst, Hange wore a dark look on her face. You feared that you have angered her and instinctively took a step back in case things go south. Maybe you should have held your tongue... You were quite sure that something bad was going to happen but nope! She merely burst out laughing. In fact, she laughed so hard that she ended up snorting with tears of mirth streaming down her face. It took her quite a while to recover from that.

Hange: Hahahahahahaha! Hahahaha! Hahaha... Oh man! "Sacrificing goats"! "Eating children"! Good one!

You: Err...

Hange: Hoo! Anyway, nope! We don't do any of that at all. And we definitely aren't with those titanlings either.

Krista: Otherwise, Annie wouldn't have saved you or I wouldn't have healed your wounds.

Ymir: "Sacrificing goats"! Haha! Where did you get that idea? Now I know what Reiner meant by your "interesting choices of words".

Ilse: You see, Hange? This is what happens when you don't tell the full story...

Hange: Alright, I guess I do owe you an explanation. When I said "Witch", did you think we're the children-eating and flying on brooms in fairytales kind of witch?

You: Well... Most people would think that...

Hange: Hmm, point taken. I mean, yes, we kind of do have a cauldron for brewing things up and stuff... But we assure you, we're completely not like that at all. In actuality, our "Witch" here is just a short for "Mystic Witch".

You: "Mystic Witch"?

Hange: That's right, we, the Mystic Witches, are a group of magical users banding together to fight against the titan threat.

You: T-Titans...? Wait, if those were just "titanlings", then... There are bigger ones...?

Hange: Oh yes, those are the actual "titans".

Xillia: Eep...

Hange: But fear not, this is why we're here in the first place. That's our job. For whatever reason or destiny, it seems that you've been chosen to wield the mystic power like us. And now that you're here, I ask again, will you join us, as a fellow Mystic Witch, to help us defend the defenceless, innocent and unaware?

The whole situation felt like way too much for your brain to handle. You were supposed to just go with Krista to get your phone checked. But instead, you got yourself roped into a completely wild dream straight out of a storybook. Mystic Witches? Titans? Just how much more weird things could happen in such a short period of time in your life?? But when you thought about it, you had always thought your life was getting a little boring and wished for some event that could spice your life up. After all the things you have been through, one wouldn't doubt your right to have some excitement in your life, no matter how chaotic it could get. You did admit to yourself that Xillia appearing before you did made things a lot more interesting, if only there weren't any near-death experiences involved.

You: Question.

Hange: Hm?

You: What if I refuse?

Sasha: What?!? No, [F/n]!

Hange: Well, we'll just find a way to extract the mystic power within you and then send you back with no memories whatsoever so you can go back living your normal life.

Ilse: Hange!

You: Wait, if you do that, what will happen to the familiar?

Hange: I can't be sure. We've never done that before.

Mikasa: Are you sure you want to do that, [F/n]?

You: Huh?

Mikasa: If you refuse, you not only possibly endanger the life of your familiar, you also might not be able to protect those who are precious to you. Are you alright knowing that you chose ignorance just for a normal life?

Xillia: Hey, leave [F/n] be!

Annie: We won't stop you if you did though.

You: I never said that I'm alright with it. In fact, I merely asked to get some answers and to see your reactions.

Hange: Ooh, testing us back eh? Good, there's nothing wrong with approaching with caution.

You: Ever since my first encounter with that titanling, I never wanted anyone to get in trouble with it. Try as I did, I still didn't have what was needed to deal with the problem. And before I forget, I need to thank you, Annie, for saving my life that day.

Annie: Hm.

You: Anyway, the fact that I was attacked again, it definitely wasn't a coincidence. I can't imagine what would happen if those things were on the loose. I definitely wouldn't want any of my new friends to be attacked by them. At that time, I was finally given a way to counter them and if given the choice, I'm not going to let this power go to waste. So, here's my answer. I'll join the Mystic Witches, if it means I can keep everyone safe.

Hange: Well said.

Ymir: I have to say though... That speech ended up kind of cheesy...

Xillia: No kidding...

You: Urk... I guess so...

Xillia: Must've been all those comics...

Hange: Alright, enough dilly-dally! Let's commence the initiation!

Everyone gathered around you. You have made up your mind and you weren't going back on it. You could only hope that your decision would not lead you to a life of regrets. Your train of thoughts were interrupted when Hange's voice boomed once more.

Hange: Dear sisters, we are gathered here to witness and welcome another into our coven. Once a lost soul, the Mystic Source has chosen her, and with its light, guided her to us as part of her destiny to rightfully use the mystic power to help defend the weak, protect the innocent and watch over the unaware. [F/n], as you will still be, but now as one of us, we dub thee as "Circe". May the Mystic Light help protect our newest sister and continue to guide her as she embraces her new life, as a Mystic Witch.

As that was happening, you noticed a magic ritual circle appeared on the ground below you. You felt an incredible power emanating from it but you have no idea on the effects. When you began to float from the spot, Xillia tightened her grip on your hair as she was still hiding in there. You thought that the initiation was going to be much grander, maybe with a little bit of fanfare or something along the line of a spectacular presentation. Instead, the whole affair was a relatively short one, even if it was a bit bombastic in speech. You landed softly back on the ground when the magic circle disappeared. You took a look at yourself to find that nothing seemed to have changed. Confused, you turned to Hange.

You: Hey... Err... Ms. Hange...?

Hange: Just "Hange" will do, dear.

You: Ok, Hange then. What was that magic circle? What did you do? I doubt that it was for some simple "initiation" process.

Hange: And right you are! I actually conjured multiple spells within the circle.

You: You can actually do that?!?

Hange: If you're skilled enough, yes. Anyway, I not only put in a sort of tracking spell, I also added a branch of the multi-communication spell, and then there's the low tier analysis spell and-

You: Whoa, whoa, hold up! You're losing me here... How about we go with it a little slower and also an explanation what they do?

Hange: Oh, where do I start? How about-

Ilse: Why don't you let us deal with that? Meanwhile, you can go back to work. You're really busy right?

Hange: Hmm, I guess that's fine too. Alright then. I'll be in the lab if you need me.

And thus, she left in a rather jovial tone. On the other hand, Ilse let out a long sigh and it sounded like one of relief. You only found out later that it was a terrible idea to let Hange do some explanations on things that weren't urgent because apparently according to Nanaba, she could run her mouth for two days straight without rest. Your head was filled with grim thoughts and was very thankful for Ilse stopping her. It was then you remembered to check for the time and when you looked over your phone screen, you panicked. You were in need to get back home but then again, you were supposed to send your phone for the check-up. Remembering that, Krista came forward and asked that you hand it over to her as she was the one who wanted to do it. After all that has happened, you hesitated before doing so. She immediately opened to the screen where you chatted with the fake "Krista". She put a hand over the screen and a light flashed from her palm. The messages from fake "Krista" began to glitch before disappearing and so did your replies. Then, a white magic circle appeared into the phone for a while before disappearing and she handed your phone back to you.

Krista: There you go, all done!

You: Wait, so there was actually nothing wrong with my phone?

Krista: Nope! Well, maybe except for that one little hack.

You: How in the world did those things hack my phone?!

Ilse: It probably was from your first encounter. Did you get attack by it?

You: No, not that I remember.

Ilse: Hmm... Then it must've been some residue particles from the paradoxical isolated space it created.

You: Speaking of which... Krista, you were supposed to explain to me about that when we get here.

Krista: Err... It's REALLY complicated...

Ilse: And although she's the best at doing it, you really don't want Hange to explain it now unless you got all the time in the world...

You: Urk...

Krista: But I'll do my best to sum it up for our next visit, ok?

You: Fair enough.

Krista: But to make it quick. I've done a few magical modifications to your phone. You'll see it when you get home.

You: If one of it is to block future hacks like that, then good enough for me!

With that said, you left the crystal castle in a hurry with the help of Krista. When you got back home, you were questioned by your mother on your lateness which you quickly excused it as having a little too much fun out. Luckily, she let it slide with a smile, remarking that it was rare for you to even hang out with other people and until such a late hour. After washing up, you were curious on the modifications Krista mentioned earlier. Together with Xillia, the both of you explored your smartphone for any changes. She commented that she could sense the same mystic energy from it as when you were in the castle. You also noticed a strange app hidden away in your apps list. Not wanting to accidentally mess things up, you decided to save it for the weekend when you have more free time to do anything. Or in your new situation, to fall deeper into the rabbit hole called a crazy adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random trivia!  
> "Caer Lloyw" or "Caerloyw" means "Castle of Glow" or "The Shining Fortress" in English which is then identified as Gloucester. In Arthurian legend, the place is the home of 9 villainous witches who used their magic for warfare. However, because it's from a legend, the 9 sisters can be portrayed differently depending on authors. Also, I merely borrowed the name of their home.


	4. First Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously, your outing with Krista resulted you in getting attacked AGAIN but help came in the form of... Krista?!? You ended up joining a group of magic users called the Mystic Witch. And thus, your life as one officially began...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for such a delay in the next chapter. Uni life has been quite busy and I was having a writer's block. Hopefully that's temporary but do expect long waits when it does happen... And yes, I'm aware it's a dialogue heavy chapter...

**֍ Magic 4: First Mission֎**

You: Jean, have you done the part I asked you to do yesterday?

Jean: Err...

You: You didn't... Didn't you...?

Jean: Of course I did! Just give me a moment. It's somewhere in my bag.

You: Thank goodness...

Jean: Here we are.

You sighed in relief when Jean took out a printed copy of the work you gave him. Honestly speaking, you weren't too confident about him actually contributing to the group assignment but you were glad to be proven wrong. In an effort to get you to be more in the initiative, Krista nominated you as the group leader without your approval, much to your chagrin, and to make things not-so-great for you, Jean agreed to it if it means less work for him. And thus, you had to delegate some of the work to each of your members. Needless to say, you trust Krista to do hers. The three of you were in the study area compiling the research you had to do for one of your subjects. Theoretically, it was a simple enough subject to understand. But when it came to the assignments with so much thinking freedom, it got tough to lock down on what you guys wanted to do, even more so for the students who were on the creative side.

You: Huh, Jean, I'm impressed!

Jean: Told you to trust me.

You: This is a lot for a simple topic though. We're going to have to summarize it down. Come Krista, let's just do this for today before we go off. Hopefully before it hits 4PM.

Krista: Alright, we got around two hours left till then.

You were about to stop Jean from going MIA but luckily you didn't need to. He seemed determined on making sure that this group assignment made progress and to get things done as soon as possible. You were also surprised to find that he was a whole lot smarter than he looked and glad that he had this serious side of him. All the more reason that you could be at ease when you needed work done from him. As you were discussing, you secretly sent a message to Krista that you needed her for something. The fact that you would not tell her verbally in front of Jean could only mean one thing. She immediately caught onto your intention and nodded while looking at her phone. Time went on and all of you managed to get your work done before the time limit. All that was left to do was to make the necessary changes and you were pretty much done. When he went off his own way, you and Krista met up at a spot where hardly anyone went.

Krista: So [F/n], what do you need?

You: Err... This is going to be embarrassing but... How do you get to the castle? I just came back here without a thought on how to go back there...

Krista: Oh, there? I already gave you the feature in your phone.

You: Wait, really? So was that what the app was about?

Krista: Not just that, it has many features.

You: I think it's best that you show me all of that. You still owe me an explanation for that paradox space thing.

Krista: Oh... Yeah... Right... But let's not do it here. After all, the whole thing is supposed to be secret from normal people.

The both of you looked around the area. There was no one in sight but one can't be too careful. When the both of you assured that the coast was clear, Krista grabbed onto your hand and tapped on an icon on her phone. Once again, you were sucked into vortex and spat out in front of Caer Lloyw. Xilia appeared from the commotion and sat on your head as you walked into the fortress of crystal. Now that you were back, the both of you could finally start exploring the magical location properly. Krista guided you around the area. You were introduced to the features like the library, the training round, the lab and more. Most of these places were high up on the upper floors and could only accessed by the countless stairs. When you looked at the spiralling stairs, you could only imagine how much walking one had to do. But then, you had a realization. You didn't even need to do any of that! With that in mind, you floated up towards the floor that you needed to go to. You heard Krista remarking in awe and complaining cutely she still had to walk all the stairs, which you giggled in amusement. You waited for her to come up, albeit slowly, and stopped by in the library.

Krista: Ok... I think... I'm going... to take a break here... Even if I've been in this castle for a few years, it's still tiring...

You: A few years? So, all of you have been fighting before you entering university?

Krista: Yes. Hange, Nanaba and Ilse have been fighting for much longer than the rest of us.

You: And the civilians have mostly been unaware because of you guys?

Krista: Mhm. But when the rest of us joined, the attacks got a little more frequent.

You: I wonder why... Do you guys ever needed to fight outside of Trost? If so, how do you even cover it?

???: I'll explain on that.

The voice startled the both of you a bit. You thought that the both of you were the only ones in the castle at the moment but clearly you were quite wrong. You turned around to find Hange walking in.

You: Hange! Do you come here often?

Hange: Of course I do! Someone has to keep watch on this place.

You: Oh, why did I even ask?

Xillia: Stupid question...

Hange: Anyway, you're free right? Now I can explain to you the life of a Mystic Witch.

Krista notified you that she had to go off to deal with some stuff with Ymir before leaving in a pillar of light. You were hesitant on the idea to let Hange entertain you since you remembered that fact about her on the previous chapter. But seeing as your friend just suddenly "abandoned" you, you had no choice but to accept the offer. You slowly followed her as she started the briefing while randomly wandering around.

Hange: So I'm sure you already know this but your life as a Mystic Witch must be kept a secret. And I don't just mean "must". I mean "MUST".

You: I already figured that out since Xillia told me that on day one.

Xillia: Can't imagine the chaos that would happen.

Hange: Right o'! By the way, is that your familiar?

You: You mean Xillia? Yeah.

Hange: Huh, what a curious creature!

You had a little scare when she suddenly halted her steps and got real up-close and personal to examine Xillia. The little one was obviously terrified at such a close encounter that she hid under your hair. The bespectacled woman took a step back and continued walking with a smile on her face.

Hange: Hmm, it seems Xillia is a sort of sprite. Tell me, what's your token?

You: Token?

Hange: A "token" is an item we used to transform into our Witch selves. Did you need to hold onto something to do so?

You: Erm... This feather here, I guess...

Hange: Ok, that thing is very important. The token and the familiar are connected to your mystic power. Whatever you do, always protect it and Xillia. Because if any of them is gone, or more specifically the token, you will lose your powers.

You: Yikes... Have there been any cases like that...?

She stopped. There was a sort of dark and sorrowful aura emanating from her. You kept your silence when you realized that you must have triggered a trip down bad memory lane for her. You and Xillia looked at each other, unsure of what to do but Hange's quick recovery to the topic at hand awed you.

Hange: Many... But let's continue. Anyway, what powers did you exhibit? I was told that you could float.

You: Yeah, Xillia taught me how to. Honestly, I'm still getting used to it.

Xillia: She could do some wind too!

Hange: Oh? I see, you're an air elemental user, which makes Xillia a sort of air sprite then! Seriously, that's a huge relief!

You: How so?

Hange: For years, there was no one else but Nanaba and Ilse who can use air magic. But you see, they can't always be around to assist the other girls. After all, we have to blend our civilian images as close to normal as possible.

You: If you're a doctor, how did you manage to find time? I'd imagine that you have busy shifts.

Hange: Oh, I have an assistant who's as good for a substitute. I'm also the head for my clinic in the area so I can make whatever excuse if I'm needed.

You thought about it. Of course it was obvious that if Hange had been a Witch for a long time, she must have found ways to cover her absence when in times of need. But then you started wondering how busy her assistant would have been. Imagine all the stress that piled up just because your boss had to be away a lot of times in times of need!

You: Which brings us back to my question... Do you guys get attacks outside of Trost? If so, how do you deal with it?

Hange: In the past few years, the attacks have centred around this city so most of us are staying around the state of Rose to make it easier to get to. But when we do get attacks from outside of Rose, we dispatch the best choice Witch to deal with the problem.

You: But what if they're in the middle of... You know... Civilian life?

Hange: Oh, we have ways.

You: So, everyone comes here before they're sent off?

Hange: Yes. Follow me.

She beckoned you over and you followed suit. Suddenly, there was a bright purple flash. You had to do a double take to realize that she has just disappeared in front of you. A voice called you over from the bottom of the stairs. You peered over the railing to see that she has teleported all the way down to the ground floor. Thinking of not wanting to walk all the way down the stairs, you jumped over the railing and floated downwards to where she stood. She commended on your bravery and quick utilization of your powers but you just remarked that it was actually scary doing that. You were led into a dark circular room with several round indentations in the floor in the middle. Upon entering, the room lit up in blue energy. Hange stopped you from walking any further as several crystal balls, followed by a large one in the middle, floated upwards from the indentation. The glossy spheres glowed blue before they showed you a familiar sight. You recognized it to be Trost University. One by one, the spheres switched scenes, showing you different places before they switched to some people of interest.

Xillia: Ooh, so cool! I could see everything and everywhere!

You: This... This is like a map room right?

Hange: Pretty much, yes. This is where we keep watch on a lot of things.

You: Half of me is currently thinking that you stalked a lot of people...

Hange: Well, if you want to survive, you kind of have to be a bit nosy... Just need to draw a line somewhere.

You: Point taken...

Hange: Anyway, this place also doubles as a conference room. If we got a big discussion, we do it here. So anytime we have a meeting, you just come down here.

You: Duly noted.

Hange: Now let's get to the app.

Upon hearing the keyword, you took out your smartphone and unlocked it. With a wave of her hand, Hange made one of the smaller crystal balls come closer. Its glass surface melted away to reveal the app icon projected in its core. You couldn't see it properly before but now you noticed it to resemble a complicated magic circle. She asked you to tap into it. You did as instructed and the projection followed what you just did. Upon activating the app, you were presented with a list of options in the form of images.

You: Ok, so I'm guessing each of these images correspond to a function?

Hange: Correct. It was Krista's idea to make it like that so it's easier to figure things out.

You: Let's see here... Is this sort of a mail system?

Hange: Yup, this is where I've granted you a multi-communication spell. This app acts exactly like a group chat. Go ahead and try it out.

She gave you the green light to access the feature. You saw a chat log with funny names in it. You were confused at first but then you realized that they were the names Hange had mentioned during your initiation into the group. You wanted to know what they had chatted about but since you were new, there was obviously nothing onscreen like a new blank chat. You entered your first message just to give it a try before continuing the tutorial with a question.

You: By the way, I've been meaning to ask... Why "Circe"? Why the names?

Hange: That's your "Witch Name". Think of it like a codename. I did say that your Witch life has to be kept secret.

You: Yes, you did.

Hange: So we can't have civilians who know you realizing what you are for their safety. Every time you're out on the field, you have to refer to everyone by their Witch Names.

You: So since I'm "Circe", everyone else will be calling me as such?

Hange: Yup. Oh, I almost forgotten!

With a swirl of her hand, she procured a mask out of magic. It was a half mask but with its nose slightly resembling the short beak of a bird. It was also adorned with feathers, exactly like the style of your garment. She handed it to you and it magically disappeared into your hands.

Hange: Anytime you go out into the field, wear that to conceal your identity.

You: Hold it! How is it that nobody could recognize the characters wearing the mask?

Hange: Well, ours are coated with magic that would make your identity unrecognizable to everyone but us. So there's your answer: magic!

You: Hmm... Makes sense...

**_(Thanks, Hange, for answering an age old question!)_ **

Hange: Now, let's continue. I heard that you wanted to know how to get to Caer Lloyw? Just tap the house icon.

You: And here I thought it would look like a castle like it is instead...

Hange: Well, the design wasn't my idea. I only did the magic. If you want to get back to the real world, just tap on it again and set your location based on your map. I synced a teleportation spell with the GPS on your phone.

You never thought to hear magic and technology being used together and honestly speaking, it was genius. The most you ever heard was that magic would disrupt electronics and machines being built to disrupt magic before it could be used. You tapped on the mentioned icon to explore the feature.

Hange: Of course, I advise you to be careful with it.

Xillia: Who knows where you might end up...

You: Please don't scare me on the first day...

Hange: You can also call headquarters without tapping for the phone.

You: Eh? What do you mean?

Hange: In the case of emergency like in the middle of battle, I've applied a mid-tier communication spell on you during your initiation. That way, you'll be magically connected to us and we can give you instructions. Also, it works the other way when you need to call us.

You: How do I do that? Just think with our mind?

Hange: Right o'! Really, you're a smart girl! It's a telepathic spell.

You: If that's the case, why the phone?

Hange: Just so you can look like you're really calling someone. Still got to blend in, you know?

You: Oh, right. Wait, how do I make sure no one else could access the feature? And what if someone sees me using it?

Hange: Ah yes, Annie did point that out. So I just put in simple a camouflage spell. It'll be invisible to all except us Witches, including the interface. As for when you're using it, it'll "force close" itself, then you can use the excuse that the person made you accidentally close it. Don't worry, it'll go back to where you left off when you enter the app again.

You: Seriously, that's genius. I don't know how you did it but it's pure genius.

Xillia: But will she be able to see how it looks like to other people?

Hange: Yes, she can. Just look with one eye and you'll see their version of the screen. Now, I believe it's time for you to head back. Caer Lloyw's dimensional time flows the same rate as our original.

Xillia: Chop chop!

You checked the time on your phone and nearly got a heart attack again. It was getting late and you should've been home by then. Using your newfound knowledge, you quickly navigated your way around the teleportation feature and disappeared in a pillar of light.

* * *

You were sitting on your room chair with the music in your ears through your earphones while concentrating solely on the "Mystic App" **_(no, not Mystic Messenger)_** , as you later found out its name from Krista that everyone in the coven called it that way, to read all you can about the magic you possessed in the archive feature. It was as if you were studying for a test, except that it was not academic related. It was a matter of life and death. If you wanted to survive, you needed to find out as much information as you can.

While you were "studying", Xillia was flying around the room as usual. When she became bored, she sat on top of your head. Something piqued her curiosity. There was a strange repetitive pattern reverberating in the air and through her feathers. It was a strange sensation. Drooping over in front of you, she enquired about the strange feeling. You wondered if it was because of the vibrations from your music. You would have allowed her to listen but decided not to due to her possibly sensitive sprite ears. Plus, you didn't want to work up a ruckus. You do kind of blast your music after all... However, you did promise that she could hear your playlist when the night wasn't too late.

Just then, there was a notification sound that you didn't recognize. It happened to be from the Mystic App and a big red exclamation mark was hovering over the message feature. Upon opening it, it revealed that it was from Hange. The next thing you knew, you were jogging into the map room where Hange, Nanaba and Mikasa were present.

You: I literally got back home from here only to have to come back here...

Xillia: Talk about luck...

You: Did I miss anything?

Hange: Nope! We were just about to start.

The spheres activated by revealing a locked on area in Trost and a visual on the spot. Since you were still months new to the city, you had no idea where exactly it was but the visual told you that it was near an ice-cream café. Another sphere showed two yellow dots with short bars beside them.

Hange: Ilse?

Ilse: There have been reports that people have gone missing near this dessert café during night time.

You: What are those bars?

Hange: Those indicate the number and level of enemies that have appeared. There are four indicators of the enemies' level: yellow, orange, red and black. Currently they're code yellow which means that they're only small fries. I called you here to let you in on how your future missions are going to be like.

You: So they're just titanlings?

Hange: Probably. The indicator isn't always accurate though. Sometimes external factors will change the tide of battle in a short notice. But for the most part, it has been with the titanlings. And according to the sensor, you have two of them.

You: So, Mikasa, why are you here?

Mikasa: These titanlings seemed to be weak to fire magic.

You: Then why am I here? Mikasa is more obviously experienced than I am and I doubt she'll need my help.

Hange: You're to accompany her in case anything happens.

Mikasa: The policy of the coven is that we're always sent in pairs at minimum. Very rarely we go solo unless it's a very small fry.

You: Very well then. I guess I could see how you ladies operate.

Hange: Right o'! If there are no other questions, move out!

* * *

The two of you arrived in a street at the back of some shops. It wasn't direct but you couldn't risk being seen suddenly coming out of nowhere. Mikasa was the first to walk out towards the destination and you followed suit. You observed her. She was so calm. You guessed that she must have had quite a lot of experience with this and this was practically child's play for her. She stopped in her tracks. You turned your attention to your surroundings. It was already late night and the dessert café have closed. The area was only bright by the street lights but otherwise dark and deserted. Seeing that there was no one around, Xillia popped up from your hair. Her tiny ears perked up as if on alert. She told you that she sensed them getting closer.

Mikasa pulled something out of her pocket. It resembled a dark sphere trapped in a translucent box. She casually threw it in front of her and a dark barrier appeared. It grew bigger and the surroundings started to distort for a bit before returning to normal. The barrier then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. You widened your eyes. You knew this feeling. It was the paradoxical isolated space. You finally realized the reason for such a phenomenon. It was to keep things in, to stop the titanlings from escaping. A trap. The only reason for you being trapped in it with the enemy was because it was either intended or you were just unlucky enough to be caught in it. Whatever the case, you didn't need to bug Krista about it anymore. Xillia tugged a strand of your hair in panic. You looked at Mikasa, as if asking for permission to advance. She nodded and the both of you transformed into a flash.

A curious creature appeared by your ally's shoulder. It looked like Xillia but darker and a lot fiercer. Instead of feathers, it was covered in clothes of dark scales with cracks that burned bright in the colours of molten lava, occasionally spewing sparks of ember and emanating a wave of gentle heat. You recognized this heat, even if it was at a lesser degree. It was from the time she had a glare off with Annie during the campus tour on orientation week. Mikasa introduced her as "Enko". Despite being excited to finally meet another familiar, your air sprite was also afraid due to her not only being shy, but also because of Enko's fierce impression. In a serious tone, the fiery one reminded everyone about the mission. The ice-breaking could come another time.

As if on cue, the street light started flickering. That had never been a good sign in your book. You floated upwards to get an aerial view of the area, hoping to spot the enemies. Your ally followed suit but with a pair of magical flaming wings. They burnt bright as she slowly soared in the air, replacing the street lights as the better light source. A sound could be heard. It was minute but with the silence of the night, it was as loud as it can be. Something pricked your nose. You sniffed for a bit before snorting with a grimace. Their putrid stink was a tell-tale sign. They were close, that much was obvious. When Mikasa stopped for a second, she saw you letting out a slicing wind and it managed to decapitate a limb of one of them. Impressed but not visible, she then quickly finished it off with a flame attack. The corpse of the titanling burnt into oblivion. One down, but there was one more to go. Just then, you felt something suddenly invaded your mind which prompted you to hold two of your fingers to your temple.

Hange: (Circe, can you hear me?)

You: Err, yes? Loud and clear? Do I just talk like this?

Hange: (Yes, I know it looks weird but that's how we do it.)

You: Ok...?

Mikasa: What is it?

Hange: (Did you find out what type of titanling you were against?)

You: Well, it was just an ugly small fry. We dealt with one as soon as we found it.

Hange: (Good to hear. But we're detecting a change in the number of enemies.)

You: Like how many?

Hange: (Seems to be increasing in multiples of twos. They're gathering at one spot.)

Mikasa: Any idea where they are?

Hange: (They should be near your position. I suspect this is a multiplier type. Move in and locate them. Then you must deal with all of them quickly to avoid them duplicating.)

Mikasa: Understood.

Before you could ask any more questions, the connection between you and your superior was cut off. Guess that meant you would have to figure things out yourself... You asked Mikasa whether it would be a good idea to split up to cover more ground. She shook her head, reasoning that it was close and with its numbers, it would be better to stick together to avoid being ambushed. You nodded and followed her. It didn't take too long for the both of you to find your enemies. Apparently, one of them decided to charge straight at you. You blew it back before it could strike and it ended up being burnt to a crisp by Mikasa. You were soon faced a wave of mini titanlings crawling all over the walls. They all looked like grotesque bunnies with bug-like features. Big creepy eyes, multiple limbs, you name it! It was a scene straight out from a horror show. You cursed loudly before unleashing a multitude of cutting winds. Mikasa wanted to stop you but you were too quick. All of them hit their targets and it made things worse. How? Well... For every body parts left, they started regenerating and became new full bodies, adding to the swarm of enemies already present... You muttered an apologetic "oops" before heeding an order of retreat from your ally.

Mikasa: And this is why you don't strike first unless you know what you're dealing with...

You: Sorry...

Mikasa: Never mind that. We need to locate how far the little ones are spreading around the area.

You: But you used the paradox space thing-

Mikasa: Paradoxical isolated space.

You: It's going to take me time to get the whole term in my head.

Xillia: You should go suggest to Ha- Ah! I mean... Err... Hecate, for a shorter name...

You: Anyway! It's stuck in this space so it shouldn't be able to come out right?

Enko: It shouldn't.

Mikasa: This is a weaker version but more powerful enemies can break through the barrier with enough force or continuous damage to it. But if this keeps up...

Enko: Then we'll have to deal with this as soon as possible.

Xillia: But how are we supposed to do so?

You: Hmm... Usually with things like these, shouldn't there be a main body?

Mikasa: From what we've seen, it's probably quite obvious to be the bigger one.

Xillia: But we haven't found that yet.

Mikasa: It's probably in the middle of their gathering. The small ones can regenerate and it duplicates from there.

You: From my experience in video games, what they lack in strength, they make up in numbers.

Xillia: Is this really the time to be talking about hobbies...?

You: Hey, you never know! Sometimes they do teach you things!

Mikasa: That actually does make sense. But we still need to locate the main body. And even if we do deal with it, I have a suspicion that even that can duplicate. Otherwise, there wouldn't be all the small ones.

Enko: It would be bad if we accidentally leave out any of them and they start multiplying again.

You groaned at the problems at hand. A multiplier type titanling that can duplicate even from the main body. If you didn't deal with it soon, they could and would break through the barrier, exposing themselves to the public and endangering innocent civilians. You were pacing in mid-air while twirling a strand of your bangs. You cursed in your mind. The more you stuck around your spot for a solution, the more time you were wasting. Twirling your hair was one of your nervous ticks. The more pressure you were under, the faster your finger would go. And then, it hit you. You didn't know how she did it, but Hange knew that there was a very good reason why you had to come along for this particular mission.

Once again, the both of you took flight in search for the multiplier titanling. While up in the air, you spotted the aforementioned main body. It was exactly as Mikasa had described. It was obviously the biggest and ugliest out of all the duplicates. You dove straight down to enact the plan you had come up with. With arms outstretched, you conjured an orb of swirling energy forming in front of your palms. When it has grown big enough, Xillia came and shot it with all her might towards the intended target. It exploded and a tornado of suitable size was released, sucking up the mini titanlings into the spinning vortex. The main body put up a resistance, clinging onto the ground with its claws. You stared at the tornado, putting your full concentration into it. As if it heard you, it increased in intensity, enough to start chipping out debris from the surroundings. The main baddy was still trying to stay grounded but even it had its limits and ended up getting sucked in. As soon as that happened, you controlled the tornado to move towards all the smaller fries that strayed away. Upon your cue, Mikasa blew a jet of flame towards your tornado, turning it into a spinning inferno. The both of you watched as they were burnt. You had relaxed your hands by then and when the flaming tornado disappeared, everything within was gone. Not even their bones were left. You and Xillia celebrated with a breath of relief. That was, by far, the most advance air magic you had conjured in the short time you acquired your mystic powers.

Mikasa: (Hecate, this is Morgana reporting.)

Hange: Speaking.

Mikasa: (The enemy has been dealt with. Are there any more around?)

Hange: Nope, you're all clear. Good work, the both of you. You may pull out and rest.

Back at the castle, your superiors had a good visual on your performance. Hange turned to Nanaba who nodded.

Hange: So, what do you think?

Nanaba: Strictly speaking, she has potential and creativity. But she lacks control and experience.

Ilse: That much is true. She only just started out.

Hange: Nothing some training can't help. I'll contact her personally about it. You wouldn't mind, would you?

Nanaba: Seeing that I've trained the rest in one way or another, I see no difference. However, she could be easier like Annie.

Ilse: If I have time, I can pitch in some stuff if you want.

Nanaba: Thanks, that would help a lot.

Hange: If that's the case, I'll see you again next time. Ciao!

Ilse: Nanaba, I don't know why but it feels like she forgotten to tell her something...

Nanaba: Probably the fact that she's going to have weird sleep cycles or something along that line...

And that was exactly what you suffered on the next day when you tried your best to hide your fatigue during one of your classes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random trivia!
> 
> Name: Mikasa Ackerman  
> Witch Name: Morgana  
> Element: Fire  
> Familiar: Enko the Scaled Faerie  
> Token: A tomoe tattoo on her right hand that only appears when she uses her powers  
> Powers Included:  
> \- Heat and fire resistance  
> \- Burning aura  
> \- Powerful flame attacks, usually enough to 1-hit kill many weak enemies  
> \- Expert at burning melee attacks  
> \- Flight by wings of pure flames

**Author's Note:**

> Please give your critiques and help me improve. Let me know if I made any mistakes or what not. 
> 
> Thanks and enjoy reading!


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